"Scoundrel, scoundrel, coward Barclay." De Tolly, who deceived Napoleon (1 photo). Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly: brief biography, main dates and events of his life Which army did Barclay de Tolly command?

On August 26, 1812, the Battle of Borodino took place. Barclay de Tolly took part in the most dramatic episodes of this battle. Five horses were killed under him. Barclay's dress uniform was spattered with blood, and six of his aides-de-camp were killed. “He is looking for death!..” - said the soldiers and officers, looking at their commander.

The first book of pret and pro statues of the commander in the Riga City Council has come to an end. People are already signing up for the second volume in the hope of finally defending the monument to Barclay de Tolly. And it is right. According to the famous Riga researcher Felix Thalberg, Barclay’s courage played a huge role in the fateful battle for Russia near the hitherto little-known village of Borodino.

Roads of the Smolensk region

Before talking about Borodin, we must recall what preceded him. And it was preceded by a remarkable battle, won by Barclay before the Russian troops left Smolensk. It was like this,” says Thalberg. - When the second Western army was leaving Smolensk, Prince Bagration made a serious mistake - he removed the rearguard even before the vanguard of the first Western army took the position. And the French corps of Marshal Ney tried to break through the gap that had formed. If he had succeeded, the company would have ended. On that day, Napoleon had already predicted the death of the Russian army.

But Ney hesitated for only half an hour, and this gave Barclay the opportunity to instantly organize the transfer of his units to Valutina Gora. There an unexpectedly fierce battle took place, brilliantly won by Barclay de Tolly. Suffice it to say that the French lost 10 thousand people. Russian losses were two times less. In Russian history, this battle is practically hushed up. And in vain. Because on that day the Russian troops covered themselves in glory, and Napoleon's star dimmed for the first time. And most importantly, this success inspired Barclay de Tolly to fight a decisive battle. After a long search, he chose a strong position near Gzhatsk.

Horses and people mixed together

But the decisive battle took place not at Gzhatsk, but at Borodin...

Here I want to refer to the New American Encyclopedia, which emphasizes that Borodin’s position was less favorable for the Russians than that of Gzhatsk. In addition, two roads passed through the Borodino field - the new Smolensk and the old Smolensk. Kutuzov believed that it was necessary to protect the new Smolensk road as the shortest route to Moscow, and for Napoleon it was the old Smolensk road that was important. Because it led to Mozhaisk, where the French were aiming to encircle the Russian troops. As a result, the Russian position, as historians say, improved greatly and when Napoleon positioned his troops on the opposite side, five Russian infantry and cavalry corps found themselves in a zone of inaction.

And at the most dramatic moment of the Battle of Borodino, Barclay de Tolly had to correct this mistake. Napoleon unleashed a blow of unprecedented force on the left flank of the Russians - troops of the best French corps took part in the attack - the infantry of Davout and Ney, the cavalry of Murat. Bagration's army was melting before our eyes. Count Vorontsov recalled that in a matter of hours, in his division, out of 4,000 people, only 300 remained. Barclay first sent a cavalry detachment under the command of General Dorokhov, and then the corps of General Baggovut, to help Bagration. Napoleon already considered the matter resolved, but, to his amazement, the French attack was suddenly overturned by the Russian corps that arrived in time. Our historians are still arguing about who and when sent this corps to the left flank. Some say Kutuzov, others say Barclay. But the archives preserved reports from General Baggovut to Kutuzov, leaving no doubt - it was Barclay de Tolly who thwarted Napoleon’s maneuver, which could have decided the fate of the Battle of Borodino.

War and Peace

But in Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” Barclay on the Borodino Field is shown as a man who, unlike Kutuzov, is unable to realistically assess the situation...

Unfortunately, two great men played a sad role in the posthumous fate of Barclay de Tolly. This is Tolstoy with his novel “War and Peace,” which sold millions of copies, and Stalin with his, also quite widely circulated, statement that Kutuzov as a commander is two heads taller than Barclay de Tolly. Today Russian historians shrug their shoulders - where did he find these two heads? But in the history of the Battle of Borodino, Barclay’s feat has so far been hushed up. But in addition to his military leadership talent, Barclay de Tolly also showed unprecedented courage there.

When, desperate to break through the enemy's left flank, Napoleon launched his soldiers into an attack on the Russian center, a fierce battle took place there. The French occupied Kurgan Heights with incredible efforts. Barclay took his regiments to the Zagoretsky ravine and organized a defense there. And when the cavalry battle began, he personally led the Cavalry Guard and Horse Guards regiments into battle. It was a real feat. According to eyewitnesses, Barclay burst into the thick of it, and five horses died under him. Six of his nine aides-de-camp were killed and three were wounded. The commander's ceremonial uniform was spattered with blood. But the battle was won. In Russian history, a general of such rank - and Barclay was a commander and minister of war - had never accomplished such a feat.

We've been retreating for too long...

Felix, but the textbook reproach “we have been retreating for too long” is also addressed to Barclay de Tolly...

Of course, it was Barclay de Tolly who carried out the retreat strategy in the War of 1812. But this is the brilliant plan that ultimately destroyed Napoleon. After all, when the French left Smolensk, the marshals obstructed Napoleon. They did not want to leave Smolensk. And Barclay’s own heart probably skipped a beat whether Napoleon would come out or not.

Napoleon came out, and then Barclay realized that everything would happen as he had planned. That he would lure Napoleon’s army, stretch its communications, gradually equalize the number of Russian and French troops and give a decisive battle. Which sooner or later Napoleon will lose.

But Napoleon won the Battle of Borodino?

Why? The French emperor never managed to break through the Russian positions. Perhaps because he did not use his most serious trump card - he did not bring his old guard of 20 thousand people into the battle. Kutuzov, under Borodin, used all his reserves. The Russians left the second Western army with its commander-in-chief Peter Bagration on the battlefield. The ratio of losses is 30 thousand dead French and 52 thousand Russians. And yet, the Russian army won a moral victory at Borodino. The most fair assessment of the battle should be considered the assessment given by Napoleon himself:

The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians gained the glory of being invincible.

Thank you for the interview.

As a descendant of the highlanders, Barclay de Tolly gave Finland to Russia, deceived Napoleon and saved Russia.

198 years ago, on May 26, 1818, in East Prussia, on the way to Czech mineral waters, a man whose family descended from the Scottish Highlanders died. Although we can say this - the great Russian commander, full Knight of St. George, the founder of Russian army intelligence and counterintelligence, has died. It can be even simpler - the savior of Russia. Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly.

The memory of him has shrunk to the point of an offensive and unfair saying. Or rather, even a mocking joke based on a kindergarten play on words. After the retreat and surrender of Smolensk in the campaign of 1812, some wits changed the name of the commander: “He chats, and that’s all.” You can guarantee that this “funny” episode will definitely be heard in a school lesson on the topic of the Patriotic War of 1812.

With such a disdainful attitude towards the memory of a truly great man, we at one time reached the point of outright absurdity. They tried to steal Mikhail Bogdanovich from Russia. Posthumously. And not without success. In 1841, German nationalists, with great pomp, erected his bust in the Valhalla, the hall of fame of the German people, near the city of Regensburg. The Germans were able to appreciate the greatness of a Russian subject and a Scot by blood, whose attitude towards Germany was limited, perhaps, only by his place of birth - Livonia, Riga. However, it is not too late to remind who is who.

Finland is ours!

Researchers of soldier's folklore have recorded another saying that was common among the troops several years before the start of the Patriotic War of 1812. It sounded like this: “Looking at Barclay, you are not afraid!” And it was connected with the Russian-Swedish war of 1808–1809. At that time, the Swedes, who had been repeatedly beaten by Peter the Great, suddenly showed the famous Nordic temperament and ability to fight. The beginning of the war for Russia was clearly unsuccessful - several detachments were defeated, others retreated, and the units of Rear Admiral Nikolai Bodisko completely capitulated.

Battle of Gangut, engraving by Mauritius Bakua. "Morskaya Poltava". How Tsar Peter took the Swedes on board
There was also a danger that the Russians would be able to organize an amphibious assault into the soft underbelly of Sweden. But the Swedes were confident that General Frost was now on their side. The Gulf of Bothnia, which separated Russia and Sweden, was covered that winter with particularly thick shell ice, which precluded sea sabotage.

Barclay's plan was daring to the point of madness. And certainly unprecedented. No one in the entire military history of mankind has ever dared to do something like this.

He proposed raising troops directly from winter quarters and throwing them across the ice of the bay, first to the Åland Islands, and then to Stockholm. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, General Bogdan Knorring, reported in horror to the tsar about the “madness” of his subordinate: “Sovereign! The battalions are not frigates, and the Cossacks are not shebeks to walk the bays!” But the emperor unexpectedly liked Barclay’s idea.

250 miles across the icy desert. Five transitions. Five nights, during which they were not even allowed to make fires that could be unmasked. To the question: “How can we warm ourselves?” - The imperturbable Barclay replied: “You can jump.” However, they weren’t that cold. At Barclay's insistence, the appropriate provisions were taken - crackers, lard and vodka.

The fact that the Russians were not expected is putting it mildly. The first point - the Åland Islands - was taken on the fly. The Swedish garrison could not believe that this was possible. He hardly even resisted - the losses on both sides amounted to about 100 people. Barclay took more than 3 thousand prisoners.

They didn’t expect ours in Stockholm either. Eyewitnesses, perhaps lying somewhat, say that King Gustav IV himself was awakened on March 7, 1809 by a salvo of Russian cannons in the immediate vicinity of the palace. On the outskirts of the city, and this is absolutely certain, Cossack patrols have already appeared. In any case, Gustav was instantly deposed, and the new king immediately sent envoys to Barclay de Tolly. Not only the strategically important Åland Islands, but also the whole of Finland went to Russia. The ideal way to wage war.

Forerunner of Stirlitz and fighting rabbi

For a true commander, beautifully executed operations are half the battle. According to the Chinese thinker Sun Tzu, who is considered the supreme ace of military strategy: “The best thing is to defeat the enemy’s plans.” Here the palm should also be given to Barclay. It was he who created a device in our army that is capable of breaking plans. Military intelligence.

The exploits of the Russian resident Alexander Chernyshev are more or less known. A brilliant officer, he, on Barclay’s instructions, infiltrated the highest Parisian circles. He was singled out by Napoleon himself, who loved to have conversations with the Russian about tactics and strategy, hunting and philosophy. Chernyshev himself, according to rumors, even started an affair with Napoleon’s sister, Polina Borghese. And in the intervals between conversations and courtship, he bribed a certain Michel, a captain in the French military department. He had access to top-secret documents. For example, the schedule of the strength of the French army was compiled on the basis of battalion and regimental reports every two weeks. In a single copy - for Napoleon himself. True, after Chernyshev’s efforts, it was no longer the only thing - Michel made a copy for the Russian Tsar Alexander I and the Russian Minister of War Barclay de Tolly.

It is much less known that Barclay’s department covered not only the circles of the highest aristocracy with its network. The clergy also worked for him, and very specific ones at that. Rebbe Shneur Zalman bar Boruch, founder of the Hasidic Chabad movement, was perhaps the only Jewish authority who publicly spoke out against Napoleon: “Do not lose heart and do not attach importance to the temporary victories of the hater, for complete victory will be on the side of the Russian Tsar!” In addition to propaganda, he flooded Bonaparte’s army, which had invaded Russia, with his spies. In the very first weeks of the war, the students of the Lubavitcher Rebbe created a network that entangled the entire territory of Lithuania and Belarus. This is how the hero of the war of 1812, Mikhail Miloradovich, spoke about their work: “These people are the most devoted servants of the sovereign, without them we would not have defeated Napoleon and would not have been decorated with these orders.” However, if we think impartially, all the laurels in the area of ​​intelligence should have gone to Barclay de Tolly.

Second place or oblivion?

During Pushkin’s lifetime, one stanza was removed from his famous poem “The Russian Tsar Has a Chamber in His Palace.” Here she is:

Your successor has achieved hidden success
In your head. And you, unrecognized, forgotten
The hero of the occasion is dead. And at the hour of death
Perhaps he remembered us with contempt.

Now this has to be explained, but in those years it was clear to everyone - Pushkin is talking here about Barclay and his “successor”, Kutuzov. Public opinion, and especially Kutuzov’s descendants, were terribly outraged. How so? Who, according to Pushkin, is the savior of Russia? Is it really not Kutuzov, but some kind of foreigner? Who, moreover, did not fight a single battle, but only retreated ingloriously?

To show Barclay’s “insignificance,” the correspondence of Prince Bagration was immediately brought to light, who did not mince words: “Our minister is indecisive, a coward, stupid, slow and has all the worst qualities.” Or even more scathingly: “Scoundrel, bastard, creature Barclay gave up such a wonderful position for nothing!”

Now let's compare two quotes.

First: “With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not lost yet. But when the army is destroyed, both Moscow and Russia will perish.”

Second: “Moscow is nothing more than a dot on the map of Europe. I will not make any movement for this city that could expose the army to danger, since it is necessary to save Russia and Europe, and not Moscow.”

It may seem like one person is speaking. However, in fact, the first phrase belongs to Kutuzov, and the second belongs to Barclay.

It was he who, having become Minister of War in 1810, having comprehensive intelligence from the service that he himself created, developed a plan for the war with Napoleon. The plan of that very “Scythian war”. Retreat. Stretching communications. Disturbing blows. In the future, the enemy will flee.

Here is the testimony of Barclay’s adjutant, Vladimir Levenshtern: “He more than once instructed me to write to His Majesty that the loss of several provinces would soon be rewarded with the complete extermination of the French army... Barclay begged His Majesty to be patient until November and guaranteed with his head that by November the French troops would be forced to leave Russia more hastily than we entered there.”

We already know that events developed exactly according to Barclay’s scheme. However, his name is almost never mentioned in this context. And if it is mentioned, the reaction to it will be indignant.

Therefore, it is best to quote Alexander Pushkin again, whom it is difficult to suspect of insufficient patriotism: “Should we really be ungrateful to the merits of Barclay de Tolly because Kutuzov is great? You say that his merits were recognized, appreciated, and awarded. Yes, but by whom and when? Of course, not by the people and not in 1812.”

The last statement, unfortunately, remains true more than a hundred years later.

"Loyalty and patience."

(Motto on the princely coat of arms of Barclay de Tolly)

In the Finnish city of Nitstadt on September 10, 1721, the plenipotentiary representatives of Peter I carried out the “Ratification of the Royal Majesty of Svea, on the treaty of eternal peace made with his royal majesty.” “Ratification” put an end to the great Northern War between Russia and Sweden, which lasted exactly twenty-one years.

According to the terms of the treaty, “eternal and inviolable peace on land and water” and “an eternal obligation of friendship” were established between the two states.

Sweden ceded vast possessions to Russia in Karelia, the Ladoga region, the Baltic states, including Livonia and Riga. Along with new cities and lands, hundreds of thousands of new subjects came under the scepter of Peter I, among whom were representatives of the ancient Scottish family of Berkeley, who settled in Riga eighty years before the start of the Northern War.

The Berkeleys traced a long line of noble ancestors back to Baron Robert Berkeley, who was mentioned in 1086.

In 1621, two Berkeley brothers, Peter and John, who stubbornly professed Protestantism and opposed the Catholic Stuarts, left Scotland for the German Duchy of Mecklenburg, in the city of Rostock, a large trading center closely connected with the Baltic states.

From there, the brothers made a formal inquiry to the local priest serving in the small seaside town of Banff, Sir Patrick Berkeley, about their ancestry and received the answer that they were descended from the noble family of Berkeley of Tolly, the place of origin of which should be considered the county of Banff in eastern Scotland.

This circumstance gave the brothers the basis to bear the surname Barclay de Tolly.

Peter Berkeley's eldest son, Johann Stefan, moved to Livonia in 1664 and settled in Riga. It was he who became the founder of the Russian Barclay line. Johann Stefan Barclay de Tolly married Anna Sophia von Derenthal, the daughter of a Riga lawyer, who bore him three sons. Johann Stefan turned out to be not only the founder of the Russian line of his family name, but also the first Russian subject of the Barclay family, since, together with all members of the Riga magistrate, he took the oath of allegiance to his new homeland - Russia.

Two of Johann Stefan's sons became officers in the Swedish army. The eldest, Wilhelm, succeeded his father and in 1730 was elected a member of the Riga city magistrate. One of Wilhelm's sons, Weingold-Gotthard, was born in Riga in 1726. He served in the Russian Imperial Army and retired as a lieutenant.

The poor officer, who had served only the rank of the eleventh class, had neither peasants nor land and was forced to become a small tenant. In 1760 he settled in Lithuania, on the small remote manor of Pamushis. Here, on December 13, 1761, his third son was born, who was named Mikhail. Thus, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly was a fourth generation Russian citizen and the son of an officer in the Russian army. Since the boy’s father’s name was Weingold Gotthard and his second name translated into Russian meant “given by God,” subsequently Mikhail Barclay de Tolly began to be called Mikhail Bogdanovich.

When the boy was three years old, his father took him to St. Petersburg. From an early age, little Mikhail stood out among his peers for his seriousness and excellent memory, ability in history and mathematics. Pride and perseverance, as well as the composure and courage acquired over the years, distinguished Barclay. Directness and honesty complemented these qualities, turning the young man into an ideal military man, for these are the qualities that a future commander should have. In St. Petersburg, he lived and was raised in the house of his maternal uncle, a participant in the Seven Years' War, brigadier of the Russian army von Vermeulen. He spared no expense and hired him good teachers, and he himself taught his nephew, preparing him for military service.

At the age of six, his uncle enrolled him in the Novotroitsk cuirassier regiment, of which he was commander. Barclay began serving at the age of fourteen, and his first regiment was the Pskov Carabinery. His training was more thorough than that of other officers, since the certificate presented by Barclay stated that “he can read and write in German and Russian and knows fortification.” It took Barclay two years of hard study and impeccable service to receive an officer rank at the age of sixteen, and another ten years to become a captain. In 1788, together with his superior, Lieutenant General Prince of Anhalt, Captain Barclay went to the theater of military operations - against the Turks to Ochakov.

By that time, wars between Russia and Turkey had been going on for more than a hundred years. By 1788, Russia had achieved significant success - Crimea came under its power, Georgia came under its protection, its ships entered the Black Sea. Russia's military successes were supported by economic successes - on the annexed lands, called Novorossiya, ports and fortresses, cities and villages were built, tens of thousands of acres of land were plowed, manufactories and factories were founded. The governor of the new territories was the favorite of the Empress, Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, who, after the annexation of Crimea, received the title of His Serene Highness with the addition of “Tavrichesky”. Under his command, Barclay de Tolly was now to serve.

In the wars with Turkey, a remarkable galaxy of Russian military leaders and naval commanders grew up. Peter I began his military leadership with the Azov campaigns. In the wars with Turkey, the military art of Rumyantsev and Suvorov matured; in the battles against the Turkish fleet, Spiridov and Ushakov, the famous admirals of Russia, gained their glory. And now the “times of Ochakov and the conquest of Crimea” have come.

Ochakov was surrounded by Potemkin's army from the end of June 1788. Old Field Marshal Rumyantsev, offended by Potemkin’s appointment to his place, called the actions of the favorite under the walls of the fortress “the siege of Troy.” Only on December 6, in severe frosts, a general assault on the fortress began. One of the assault columns, which struck directly at the fortress, was commanded by Prince Anhalt. His soldiers knocked the Turks out of the retranchement - an auxiliary field fortification, and then pressed the enemy to the walls of Ochakov. After a stubborn and bloody bayonet battle, in which Barclay was in the forefront of the attack, the soldiers burst through the Istanbul Gate into the fortress. The ditch in front of the citadel, three fathoms deep, was filled almost to the top with corpses - such was the incredibly stubborn intensity of this battle. For Ochakov, Barclay received his first order - Vladimir 4th degree, the Ochakov assault medal and his first staff officer rank - second major.

In the summer of 1789, a decisive turning point occurred in the theater of military operations: in July, Russian troops, united under the overall command of Potemkin into one, the Southern Army, slowly moved towards the Turkish fortress of Bendery. On the way to Bendery, two battles took place that radically changed the general strategic situation in the war. On July 21, Suvorov, who fought under the command of Potemkin, defeated the thirty-thousand-strong corps of the vizier Osman Pasha near the city of Focsani, and on September 11, he completely defeated the main forces of the hundred-thousand-strong army of Yusuf Pasha. This battle, which took place near Focsani, on the banks of the Ramnic River, went down in the history of military art as an example of a battle when a surprise attack and speed of maneuver brought victory to an army four times inferior in number to the enemy.

For this victory, Chief General Suvorov was elevated “to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire” with the order to henceforth be called Count Suvorov-Rymniksky.

On September 13, the vanguard of the army, which approached the town of Kaushany, 23 versts from Bendery, with a decisive attack knocked the Turks out of the fortifications. The detachment in which Barclay was located was commanded by the already famous Cossack Colonel Matvey Ivanovich Platov. His Cossacks and Barclay's horse rangers scattered the Turkish troops, captured one hundred prisoners along with their commander Sangala Pasha, occupied Caushani and thereby created a serious threat to Bendery, already besieged by Russian troops. At the end of September, Platov, under whose command Second Major Barclay was, occupied the Ackerman fortress. This victory was much more significant than the Kaushan affair: 32 banners and 89 cannons became trophies of the winners.

The war between Russia and Turkey set in motion all anti-Russian forces. According to established tradition, its permanent northern ally, Sweden, came to the aid of Turkey. In the summer of 1788, the Swedish king Gustav III declared war on Russia, and maneuvers and combat operations of the Swedish fleet began in the immediate vicinity of St. Petersburg, and Swedish troops appeared a short distance from the capital, in southeastern Finland.

In the early spring of 1790, the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops, Count N.I. Stroganov, summoned Anhalt to the active army and instructed him to take the well-fortified village of Kernikoski, located west of Vyborg. Barclay was next to his boss this time too. On April 18, in the morning, during an attack on Kernikoski, the prince was mortally wounded - his leg was torn off by a cannonball. Dying, he handed over his sword to Barclay, who has never parted with it since then.

For his distinction in the battle at Kernikoski, Barclay received the following rank - prime major and was transferred to the St. Petersburg Grenadier Regiment. In 1794, commanding a battalion of this regiment, he went to a new theater of military operations - Poland. Here he had the opportunity to distinguish himself during the storming of Vilna. In battles against the rebels, Barclay earned the rank of lieutenant colonel and the Order of St. George 4th grade.

Four years later, Barclay became a colonel and was given command of his first regiment - the Jaeger Regiment. He remained associated with this regiment almost until the end of his life. At first he was its commander (and then its chief), then the commander of a brigade and division, which included the 3rd Jaeger Regiment. This regiment has consistently remained one of the best regiments in the army. Before the Patriotic War of 1812, the regiment was the only one in the entire army to own two military awards - silver trumpets for the battles of Jankov, Landsberg and Preussisch-Eylau and for distinction in the war with Sweden in 1808–1809 - the grenadier drum.

By this time, the character of the future commander had fully developed, his moral and professional principles had been formed. Coming from a poor family, having neither serfs nor profitable lands, living only on a modest salary, Barclay was cordial towards his subordinates and thereby distinguished himself favorably from his classmates, who saw in soldiers and non-commissioned officers the same village serfs whom They left on their estates, as their way of life differed from them. If wine, cards, red tape and idleness were the lot of many officers outside the ranks, then Mikhail Bogdanovich devoted his free time to reading, intelligent conversation, and systematic studies of military science. It is during this Burden that the future strategist begins to mature and develop in him, whose name will subsequently stand on a par with the names of the famous commanders of Russia. It was during these years that his public image was finally formed - the image of an enlightened, democratically minded officer, an enemy of cane discipline, tyranny, arbitrariness and assault, a supporter of everything advanced that made it possible to make the Russian army the best in the world. Ten years will pass, and Barclay will try to implement these principles on a wide scale. In the meantime, hard work, continuous training - at the desk and in the field, constant communication with the soldiers and officers of his Jaeger regiment were his destiny.

Selected soldiers were recruited into the Jaeger regiments - riflemen and scouts, capable of raids behind enemy lines, long marches, and rapid bayonet attacks. Therefore, combat training occupied the most important place among the rangers. On March 13, 1799, “for the excellent training of the regiment,” Barclay was promoted to major general, but did not receive a new position, still remaining commander of the regiment for another eight years.

With this regiment in 1805, Barclay set out on a campaign against Napoleon, but did not reach the theater of military operations: on the way, news was received of the defeat of the Russian army at Austerlitz, and then an order to return to winter quarters. This campaign was Barclay's last peaceful march - a period of long and difficult wars was beginning.

Less than six months after Austerlitz, Napoleon began a new war with Prussia. Due to the obligations it assumed, Russia found itself drawn into the conflict. On November 14, Napoleon defeated the Prussians at Jena and Auerstedt and two weeks later occupied Berlin. Russia found itself alone with Napoleon. Russian troops stood in Belarus and Poland, pushing forward their vanguards to the banks of the Vistula. One of them was commanded by Barclay, it was here on the Vistula that he first clashed with Napoleonic marshals, his future main opponents.

On November 16, Napoleon's troops occupied Warsaw. Having crossed the Vistula, they tried to encircle the Russian troops concentrated at Pułtusk, but their plan was thwarted, and to a large extent this merit belonged to Major General Barclay, who on December 14, at the battle of Pułtusk, commanded the tip of the Russian right flank. For the first time, five regiments were under his command - three Jaeger regiments, the Tengin Musketeer regiment and the Polish cavalry regiment.

They reliably covered the right flank of Bennigsen's army, repelling the fierce attacks of Guden's division from Marshal Davout's corps. Marshal Lannes, one of Napoleon's best commanders, also turned out to be Barclay's opponent at Pultusk. Barclay twice threw his troops at bayonets and eventually prevented Lannes from defeating the main forces of Bennigsen, who left the battlefield, abandoning many guns and carts with the wounded.

For his bravery in the battle of Pułtusk, Barclay was awarded the Order of George, 3rd class.

On January 4, 1807, the Russian army moved from Poland to East Prussia. On January 25, near Yankov, Barclay withstood strong attacks from the French, commanded by Napoleon himself. Having retreated to Landsberg, he held back the main forces of the French throughout the next day and gave the Russian army the opportunity to gather at Preussisch-Eylau. The battle at Landsberg and Gough, located nearby, was extremely stubborn. Barclay's fidelity to duty, fearlessness and composure were fully demonstrated in him. Finding himself face to face with the entire French army, he did not flinch and fulfilled his duty to the end. After the battle, he wrote in a report to Commander-in-Chief Bennigsen: “In any other case, I would have retreated in advance, so that with such an inequality in strength I would not lose the entire detachment (squad. - Ed.) my to no avail, but through the officers whom I sent to the main apartment, I inquired that most of the army had not yet been assembled at Landsberg, was on the march, and no position had been taken. In view of this, I considered it my duty to sacrifice myself with my entire detachment to such a strong enemy, rather than, by retreating, to attract the enemy with me and thereby expose the entire army to danger.” This is all Barclay. With his courage, honesty, readiness for self-sacrifice.

On January 26, Barclay was in the vanguard under the command of Bagration, then transferred his regiments to the main forces to forward positions near Preussisch-Eylau and was attacked by the corps of Marshal Soult. The attack was repulsed, but Barclay himself was seriously wounded by grenade fragments and lost consciousness. He was carried out of the battle by non-commissioned officer of the Izyum Hussar Regiment Sergei Dudnikov.

While the wounded general was taken to the rear, Napoleon continued his unrelenting onslaught on Russian positions. He personally led the battle and dealt blows one after another, groping for the weak points of the Russian defense.

In the morning, Napoleon threw Augereau's corps onto the left flank of the Russian positions, but, without achieving success, transferred the attack to the center. Ninety squadrons of Marshal Murat broke through all three lines of defense, but this did not bring success to the French.

Barclay was brought to Memel and placed in a private apartment for treatment, where doctors visited him for more than a year, trying to save his wounded right hand, in which many pieces of metal and bone fragments were stuck.

While Barclay was being treated, under the supervision of his wife who came to him and several girls who lived in his family, Alexander I came to Memel. He appeared in this city to visit the Prussian king Frederick William, who was here with his court. III, who lost almost all his possessions because of the “godless Corsican.”

Memel, located on the very border of the allied king of Russia, was rightly considered by the king to be the safest place for himself. Alexander I, while visiting his “unhappy crowned brother,” also visited General Barclay, the hero of the last war. Hardly any of them imagined that this was a meeting between the king and his future minister of war and commander-in-chief. Alexander's visit to Memel played a very important role in Barclay's life: it was then that a long conversation took place between him and the tsar, in which Barclay expressed to Alexander a number of ideas that apparently seemed interesting to the emperor.

You can imagine what Barclay, a forty-six-year-old military general, a mature strategist, was thinking about when he found himself in the peace and quiet of his home Memel infirmary. Of course, he also remembered the campaign that had just ended and thought about the upcoming campaigns. And there was no doubt that they should be: Napoleon was at the pinnacle of power, continental Europe was almost completely conquered by him, and Russia’s turn was coming - the last obstacle on the path to world domination. Russia will collapse, and then England, the main stronghold of anti-Bonapartist forces, will also suffer.

Reflecting on the immediate future, Barclay apparently also thought about a plan of military action that could be opposed to Napoleon’s aggressive strategy. And it was here that, in all likelihood, the idea came to Barclay that if Napoleon attacked Russia, the tactics of luring the enemy deep into the country and destroying his armies by hunger, cold, partisan raids and dispersing his forces across the vast expanses of the empire could save him. .

Five years later, Barclay greatly changed and significantly supplemented this plan, but its core essence remained unchanged - by retreating, bleed, exhaust, starve and freeze out the enemy army. This plan subsequently received some echoes. Thus, an associate of Napoleon, the chief intendant of the great army, General Count Mathieu Dumas (he is sometimes confused with another Napoleonic general - Dumas - the father and grandfather of famous writers) said in his memoirs that on the eve of the opening of hostilities in 1812 he met in Berlin with the famous the German historian of antiquity Berthold Georg Niebuhr, who had long been familiar to him from Holstein. When they talked about the upcoming campaign, Niebuhr said that he had learned of Barclay de Tolly's appointment as Russian commander-in-chief and had no doubt that he would retreat.

According to Niebuhr, he became close friends with Barclay in 1807, when he, seriously wounded at Eylau, lay in Memel for treatment. Barclay - according to Niebuhr - allegedly even then spoke about a retreat plan, about luring the French army deep into Russia towards Moscow, so that, by removing the French from their bases and taking away food and fodder from them, force Napoleon on the banks of the Volga to give a “second Poltava" and receive it. “It was a terrible prophecy!” - exclaims Dumas and says that he immediately reported his conversation with Niebuhr to Marshal Berthier and is convinced that Napoleon was informed about this. (While on the island of St. Helena, Napoleon himself recalled this conversation with Berthier.)

The former French ambassador to St. Petersburg, Duke of Vincenza Armand Augustin de Caulaincourt, writes approximately the same thing in his memoirs. General Dedem, a Dutch baron who served in the French army from 1810 and completed the Russian campaign with the rank of brigadier general, says in his memoirs that on the eve of the 1812 campaign, when he stood with his brigade in Germany, he heard more than once about the intentions of the Russians retreat. He was charged with reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugo Bernard Marais, Duke of Bassano, about the situation in the border areas, rumors, moods, etc. “I reported,” he writes, “curious details about Russia, about the adamant intention of the Russians to burn everything and devastate and lure us into the desert to starve us to death... Eighteen months later, the Duke de Bassano said to me in Warsaw: “You were a cruel prophet.”

And although it cannot be said with complete confidence that this plan was the subject of the conversation between the king and Barclay, such a possibility should not be excluded. Be that as it may, as a result of the tsar’s visit, Barclay received the Order of Vladimir, 2nd degree and the rank of lieutenant general, and the Prussian king immediately granted the new tsar’s favorite the Order of the Prussian Red Eagle.

The evidence of Niebuhr, Dumas and Dedema is of undoubted interest, but still needs to be studied, compared and verified. Nevertheless, similar in their main idea, they cannot but arouse the closest attention.

Barclay was still being treated in Memel when in Tilsit, a hundred miles south of Memel, Alexander and Napoleon signed a peace that greatly changed Russia's foreign policy - from being sharply anti-French it became decidedly anti-English.

This led to the fact that almost immediately after the signing of the Peace of Tilsit, a naval war began between Russia and England, which lasted until the summer of 1812 and ended only with Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.

Following this, a war began with Austria and almost simultaneously with Sweden.

In addition, wars with Turkey and Persia did not stop. The size of the Russian army reached four hundred thousand soldiers and officers, but literally every person counted.

General Barclay could not remain out of work either: having recovered, he went to Finland, leading the 6th Infantry Division. And again fate brought Barclay together with his future associates - Raevsky, the three brothers Tuchkov, Bagration, Kulnev.

On March 4, 1809, Barclay de Tolly's division began crossing the Gulf of Bothnia. Together with his soldiers, one aspiring St. Petersburg journalist walked across the bay, who left the following description of the passage: “The fierce storm that raged this winter, crushing the thick ice on Kvarkern, scattered it throughout its entire space in huge fragments... it seemed as if the sea waves froze instantly, in a minute of strong swell. It was necessary to either climb the ice floes, then turn them to the side, or break out of the deep snow covered with ice (ice. - Ed.).

Sweat poured from the warriors’ brows from excessive exertion, and at the same time, the piercing and burning northern wind constricted breathing, deadened body and soul, raising fears that, turning into a hurricane, it would blow up the icy stronghold.”

The division covered about a hundred miles in two days. Not wanting to be discovered, the soldiers slept in the snow without lighting fires. Only on the last night of the campaign, when the cold became completely unbearable, did they dismantle two merchant ships frozen in the ice for firewood and, having warmed up a little, moved on. On March 12, the Swedish city of Umeå was taken by Barclay without a fight, which led to the quick surrender of Sweden. Contemporaries rightly compared the transition itself to Suvorov’s transition through the Alps.

For his successes in the Russian-Swedish war, on March 20, 1809, Barclay was awarded the rank of infantry general. At the same time, he was appointed commander-in-chief in Finland and governor-general of this new territory of Russia.

In the campaign of 1809, another Barclay trait emerged - a humane attitude towards the enemy, especially towards civilians. When Barclay’s troops, having crossed the Gulf of Bothnia, entered Swedish soil, he issued an order that included the following words: “Do not tarnish the acquired glory and leave a memory in a foreign land that posterity would honor.” These were not just beautiful words. This was a military order, and Barclay always demanded strict execution of his orders, for he was distinguished not only by his humanity, but also by his strict demands and intolerance of disorder and licentiousness. And in relation to civilians, he also followed the precepts of Suvorov: “Don’t offend the average person! He drinks and feeds us. A soldier is not a robber.”

Barclay de Tolly, the first Russian Governor-General of Finland and the first Chairman of the Government Council, laid down good traditions of respect for local foundations and customs, leaving behind a good memory in Finland. However, life demanded something else from Barclay - he had to enter a new, immeasurably more important and difficult field - to head the War Ministry. This was required by the situation that was being created both in Russia and around it; it was required by the time, which was inexorably approaching the great trials of the Patriotic War of 1812.

A big war was approaching, and the matter of defending the country should have been transferred to the hands of an intelligent and knowledgeable professional, and not left in the hands of the tough administrator and pedant Arakcheev. In January 1810, Emperor Alexander I dismissed him from the post of Minister of War and appointed Barclay. From the first day of his activity, the new minister began energetic and comprehensive preparation of the army for a big war. First of all, the size of the army had to be increased. Barclay proceeded from the fact that about three hundred thousand enemy soldiers could take part in the invasion of Russia. Here, of course, he greatly underestimated the capabilities of the French, who fielded an army almost twice as large, which was supposed to be opposed by approximately the same number of soldiers and officers, while continuous wars led to a sharp reduction in the number of Russian troops. It was also necessary to make serious changes in the structure of the army, contrasting Napoleon's advanced military system, which was based on infantry and cavalry corps, with an equally reliable, durable and mobile organization of troops. Barclay changed the structure of the army, reducing it all to divisions and corps, with each corps consisting of troops of three branches - infantry, cavalry and artillery and, thus, could solve any tactical problem. He paid special attention to reserves, creating on the eve of the war a reserve of 18 infantry and cavalry divisions and 4 artillery brigades.

Since the invasion was to come from the west, the future theater of operations was prepared accordingly.

However, as soon as Barclay began to study the general deployment of troops in the south, north and west of the country, he immediately came to the sad conclusion that it was in the west, where Russia “will have to wage a bloody war for its existence, and is least prepared for reliable defense.” . It was necessary to create such a defense. Create in those areas that could be most likely in the upcoming war. St. Petersburg and Moscow seemed to Barclay to be such directions. In addition, he did not exclude the enemy’s movement towards Kyiv.

Based on this, it was decided to deploy three army groups in the west - Northern, Central and Southern.

The strongest was to be the Northern Troupe, located between Vilna and Grodno, where the invasion of the main French forces was most likely to occur. The second largest group was planned to be the Central Group, concentrated in the area of ​​Bialystok and Brest. And finally, it was decided to deploy the Southern Group near Lutsk. All these groups were supposed to help each other in the event of an invasion and at first provide decisive resistance to the invading army.

If the enemy advanced deep into Russian territory, the troops had to withdraw to previously prepared positions - to the banks of the Western Dvina and Dnieper. New fortresses and fortified areas were to be built there, and old fortifications were to be modernized. Bridgehead fortifications were built near Bobruisk, Borisov and Dinaburg, the old fortifications of Kyiv and Riga were improved, and a new large military camp was built near Drissa. The main supplies of food and fodder, mainly flour, cereals and oats, were concentrated in these same fortresses. The central place in the system was occupied by the Drissky military camp. The Northern Army was supposed to withdraw there, and the Central and Southern (later they were called the 1st, 2nd and 3rd armies, respectively) were supposed to act on the flank of Napoleon's advancing army.

The last idea belonged to Barclay, as well as the idea of ​​​​organizing more distant defensive centers located in the depths of Russia. He called these centers “main bases” and included Pskov, Kremenchug, Smolensk and Moscow among them. In addition, serious attention was paid to army supply issues. Warehouses with food and fodder were located along the banks of the Dnieper, Dvina and Berezina. They contained supplies sufficient to satisfy an army of 250,000 for six months.

Barclay developed the initial version in less than two months, which once again indicates that the main ideas of the plan to repel a strong enemy were thought out by the Minister of War in advance.

On March 2, 1810, the plan was presented to Alexander, and, judging by the fact that work on the construction of fortifications in Belarus and Ukraine began in early spring, this plan was accepted by the emperor.

While work was being done to recruit reserve divisions, clarify positions and build defensive structures, Barclay himself worked hard on an important military legislative document, which set out new principles for command and control during the war and established a more advanced structure for command and control of the army.

This document seemed to sum up all the work done by the War Ministry and was called “Institution for the management of a large active army.”

In the “Establishment” the commander-in-chief received full power, freed from the petty tutelage of bureaucratic central military bodies. Great importance was attached to the General Staff of the Army and for the first time, the position of chief of staff, vested with great and important powers, was introduced for the first time in the Russian army.

“I would like,” wrote Barclay, “for the sovereign to spare no expense in bringing the general staff into a more prosperous state and in replenishing it with more capable people. You can find them in our army in sufficient numbers, you just have to take the trouble to look for them: true dignity is not imposed ... "

The “Institution” proved its viability, operating until 1846, and even after that it continued to be the basis for other documents, as well as other innovations of Barclay: the military scientific committee he created, which functioned almost unchanged until the beginning of the 20th century, permanent diplomatic missions abroad - the so-called “military agencies” that represented the interests of the Russian army abroad. The latter, although in a different form and with different content, still operates today in the form of military missions and attaches.

Barclay considered a significant contribution to increasing the combat effectiveness of troops to be a change in the moral climate in the army. He adhered to the point of view that the stronger the bonds of camaraderie and mutual respect between soldiers and officers, the higher the morale of the army. Having assumed the post of Minister of War, Barclay paid special attention to the situation of soldiers in the army. The new minister understood that in a feudal state the army was built on feudal orders. Spitz ruthens and sticks, assault, bullying, meaningless drill - such was the “pedagogical” arsenal of serf officers. “The army,” Barclay wrote in one of his circulars in 1810, “is distinguished by immoderation in punishment, exhaustion of human strength in training and neglect of nourishing food.” He stated that the ranks are dominated by “the habit, ingrained in our troops, of basing all science, discipline and military order on corporal and cruel punishment; There were even examples, the minister admitted, that officers treated soldiers inhumanely, without trusting in them either feelings or reason. Although from a long time ago such brutal treatment has gradually changed, even today small mistakes are often punished very severely.”

Barclay considered it completely unacceptable to humiliate the human dignity of soldiers. He wrote: “No cases give the right to infringe on the honor of a subordinate with an offensive and indecent punishment. Such an act would demean the title of the boss and would serve as sure proof of his inability to manage people who know their dignity.”

These kinds of guidelines were not theoretical considerations or good wishes - Barclay sought to put them into practice, pursuing purely practical goals: in the coming war he had to fight an army brought up in republican traditions, where every soldier “carried a marshal’s baton in his knapsack,” where all the officers were yesterday's soldiers, and the best of the soldiers were tomorrow's officers and generals.

However, not everything that Barclay called for in his circulars, orders and instructions was implemented: reality made serious amendments to the commander’s activities.

In the first half of 1812, important foreign policy actions were carried out that made it easier for Russia in the upcoming fight against Napoleon - an alliance treaty with Sweden was signed on March 24, and a peace treaty with Turkey was signed on May 16. These treaties ensured the neutrality of two unfriendly states, also located on the northern and southern flanks of Russia. And it was symbolic that the peace treaty with Sweden became possible thanks to the victories won in the war against it by Barclay’s army, and the peace treaty with Turkey - thanks to the victories won by Kutuzov’s army.

In the early spring of 1812, Napoleon's “grand army” began to slowly advance towards the Russian borders. Huge masses of troops began to move. Together with the allied forces, about 640 thousand people took part in the march to the east. If in March the main forces of the “grand army” were stationed in eastern Germany - on the Elbe and Oder, then in May they moved to the Vistula. Here Napoleon adopted the final plan for the upcoming campaign. He decided to defeat the Russian armies in a border battle, occupy Vilna and dictate his terms to Emperor Alexander, who was left without an army.

Napoleon positioned his invasion forces along Russia's western border in three groups. The main forces, which he personally commanded, numbered 218 thousand people with 527 guns and were concentrated in East Prussia. This grouping on the eastern bank of the Neman and in the depths of Lithuania was opposed by the 1st Western Army, consisting of 127 thousand people with 550 guns. She was commanded by Barclay. The central group, under the command of Napoleon's stepson Eugene Beauharnais, was concentrated near Polotsk and consisted of 82 thousand people and 218 guns. The 2nd Western Army was deployed against it, numbering about 50 thousand soldiers and officers with 170 guns. It was commanded by P.I. Bagration. The southern group, deployed in the Warsaw area, was under the command of Napoleon's brother Jerome Bonaparte and consisted of 78 thousand people with 159 guns. The 3rd Army, under the command of A.P. Tormasov, was deployed against it in the Lutsk region. In its ranks there were about 45 thousand soldiers and officers with 168 guns.

In addition, on the northern (left) flank of the “great army” there was a mixed Prussian-French corps (about 33 thousand people), which was tasked with capturing Riga. It was commanded by Marshal of France Jacques Etienne MacDonald. Macdonald, like Barclay, who opposed him on the same section of the front, was a Scot by origin, a descendant of emigrants - supporters of the Stuarts. He served in the French army from 1784. Being four years younger than his fellow tribesman, MacDonald at the beginning of his career made greater progress than Barclay: he became a general at the age of 28. Among Napoleon's associates, he had to face the Russians earlier than others - in 1799, MacDonald's corps was defeated near Trebbia by A.V. Suvorov. And finally, the southern (right) flank of the “grand army” was covered by a 34,000-strong Austrian corps under the command of Karl Schwarzenberg.

Thus, the invasion force numbered 445 thousand people with 900 guns. They were opposed by 222 thousand Russian soldiers and officers with 888 guns. Far to the south of the armies of Barclay, Bagration and Tormasov stood another Russian army - the Danube, of fifty thousand people, under the command of Admiral P. V. Chichagov.

The invading armies in the second echelon had reserves numbering about 200 thousand people. As for the Russian army, its total strength at the beginning of the war was also quite large - 591 thousand people. However, unlike Napoleon, who brought a total of about 640 thousand troops to the borders of Russia, Russian armies, in addition to the western borders with Prussia, Poland and Austria, also stood on the Turkish border in Moldova and the Caucasus, in Crimea, in Finland, in Transcaucasia on the borders with Iran and in the country’s numerous garrisons scattered as far as Kamchatka.

This was the picture on the eve of the “Great Army” invasion of Russia.

However, it should be borne in mind that each of the opponents knew exactly only that part of it that related to himself. Barclay, of course, did not know exactly what forces were deployed by Napoleon, and the French emperor also did not have complete information about his enemy.

And as a result, the upcoming campaign was fraught with many surprises for both the French and the Russians.

In March 1812, Barclay left St. Petersburg for Vilna. On March 26, he stayed in Riga with his cousin, the “principal burgomaster,” Augustus Wilhelm Barclay de Tolly, but almost did not meet with him, day and night inspecting the city’s fortifications and inspecting the troops stationed in Riga, and on March 28 he already left for Vilno and, arriving there three days later, assumed the rights of commander-in-chief of the 1st Army, retaining the post of Minister of War.

In St. Petersburg, Barclay's assistant, Prince Alexei Ivanovich Gorchakov, the nephew of A.V. Suvorov, a participant in the Swiss campaign, remained in charge of the affairs of the War Ministry.

On April 1, Barclay wrote from Vilna to the Tsar: “It is necessary for the commanders of armies and corps to have drawn up plans for their operations, which they still do not have.” The tsar did not send any “drawn plans” in response, simply because he did not have final versions. Meanwhile, war was already on the threshold. The Emperor needed to decide on something. On April 14 he was already in Vilna. Reviews of the troops followed one after another and were interrupted only during meetings in the main apartment. At the center of the meetings was the plan of the Prussian military theorist in Russian service - General Pfuel. Everyone was against him, especially Barclay, but the king remained silent for now. The ambiguity of the situation that had already arisen at this time was noted in his notes by Secretary of State A.S. Shishkov: he reports that “the sovereign speaks of Barclay as if he were the chief commander of the troops, and Barclay says that he is only the executor of his commands. Could such a discrepancy between them serve for improvement and benefit?

The Emperor really wanted to lead the entire army and gain the glory of conquering Napoleon, but fears that victory would not be on his side stopped Alexander from taking this step. He never decided to become commander-in-chief, but, worst of all, he did not appoint anyone to replace him. When Barclay suggested that Alexander appoint a commander-in-chief, the tsar avoided a direct answer, saying that as Minister of War Barclay had the right to give any orders on behalf of the emperor.

Thus, on the very eve of the war, the Russian army was left without a commander in chief.

On the night of June 12, the “great army” began crossing the Neman in the Kovno region. The news of this came to Vilna a few hours later. The Tsar and Barclay were at a ball at the Zakrete estate, in the Vilnius country house of General Bennigsen. Bennigsen was without a place, needed money, and also had more than justified fears that the French might appear in Vilna any hour. And, taking advantage of the fact that Alexander I liked the estate, he cleverly sold “Zakrete” to his august guest at the ball for twelve thousand rubles in gold. This deal would not have gone down in history if, immediately after it was completed, Barclay’s adjutant A.A. Zakrevsky had not approached the tsar and reported that the French had entered the eastern bank of the Neman.

The Tsar listened silently to Zakrevsky and asked him not to say anything to anyone for now. The ball continued.

At night, Barclay received an order to withdraw the 1st Army to Sventsyany, 70 versts northeast of Vilna. Bagration's 2nd Army was ordered to march to Vileika. The emperor himself, having returned to Vilna, wrote letters and gave urgent orders almost until the morning. He wrote a rescript to the Chairman of the State Council and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Field Marshal Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, and an order for all Russian armies.

The rescript to Saltykov ended with the words: “I will not lay down my arms until not a single enemy warrior remains in my kingdom.” The order for the armies ended with the phrase: “God is for the beginner.”

On June 14, Alexander left Vilna and headed to Sventsyany, Barclay sent orders to the commanders of corps and divisions, most of all taking care that not a single unit was surrounded and cut off by the enemy. Having learned about the movement of Napoleon's large forces towards Vilna, he slowly left the city in a carriage and headed to Sventsyany to the main apartment.

Five months after these events, Alexander, in a letter to Barclay dated November 24, 1812, assessed everything that happened in the following way: “A few days after my arrival in Vilna, I gave you the order to send back all unnecessary burdens, especially those regiments that were stationed in Lithuania, and yet they were sent back only after Nemenchik, Sventsyan, Vilkomir and Shavel, and we had to retreat with this terrifying convoy. How many times have I reminded you to build the necessary bridges; many railway engineers were seconded to the army, and meanwhile most of the bridges were in disrepair. Having decided to retreat, it was necessary to organize hospitals accordingly; meanwhile, having arrived in Vilna, I found a hospital there with several thousand patients, whose evacuation I did not cease to demand for several days. General, speaking frankly, these are the mistakes for which I can reproach you. They boil down to the fact that you were not confident enough that giving an order and getting it carried out are completely different things, and to help this, there is only one way: active supervision and verification, which would be constantly carried out by people, quite you famous."

Barclay did not forget about Bagration’s army for a minute. A few hours before the French crossed at Kovno, he notified Bagration that he expected the enemy to cross the Neman.

He also wrote that the Cossack corps of General Platov was ordered to strike the French in the flank and rear in the Grodno region. He ordered Bagration to provide the rear of Platov’s corps with the forces of his army. He also reported that the 1st Army would retreat to Sventsyany, and the 2nd Army should retreat to Borisov.

On June 19, the 1st Army approached Sventsyany. She retreated in perfect order, skillfully conducting rearguard battles, delaying the enemy at crossings, and inflicting surprise blows on him. The rearguard of the 1st Corps - seven regiments under the command of Major General Yakov Petrovich Kulnev - took about a thousand prisoners in the first days, and in the battle on June 16 near Vilkomir, Kulnev held back the onslaught of the entire corps of Marshal Oudinot all day. A participant in Barclay’s march maneuver, one of the officers of his army - the future Decembrist Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka wrote in his diary that the commander-in-chief “did not allow the slightest detachment to be cut off from him, did not lose almost a single gun, not a single convoy, this prudent leader, of course , will crown his plans with the desired success.”

The matter was complicated by the fact that the tsar constantly interfered with Barclay’s orders. He gave many orders over the head of the commander-in-chief, and these orders contradicted the instructions of Mikhail Bogdanovich. Alexander demanded that the movement towards the Drissa camp be accelerated, without informing anyone of the meaning of this maneuver.

On June 25, Barclay wrote to the Tsar: “I don’t understand what we will do with our entire army in the Drissa fortified camp. After such a hasty retreat, we have completely lost sight of the enemy, and being confined in this camp, we will be forced to wait for him on all sides.” The king did not answer this letter either, thereby making it clear that the order to go to Drissa was not subject to discussion. On June 26, the 1st Army arrived in Drissa, and three days later a military council was held here to discuss further actions. In the presence of the Tsar, Barclay spoke out in favor of not taking any active action until joining Bagration’s army.

Since Bagration failed to get through to the camp, it was decided to move on, since one of the main tactical tasks of the first month of the war remained the connection of the two armies. Nevertheless, his short stay in Drissa was marked by two important events. Firstly, the first replenishment awaited the army in Drissa - 20 cavalry squadrons and 19 infantry battalions; and secondly, a new, very important and useful business was started here - a field printing house began to operate at the headquarters of the 1st Army. Its creators - patriotic professors of the University of Dorpat A. S. Kaisarov and F. E. Rambakh - even on the eve of the war, suggested that Barclay organize the publication of Vedomosti in his army in Russian and German, and later in French, in order to conduct anti-Napoleonic propaganda in enemy troops.

Barclay's orders and appeals to troops and the population, appeals to enemy soldiers, newsletters and leaflets were printed here.

At the marching printing house, a circle of military writers arose, whose members were A. I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, brothers M. A. and P. A. Gabbe, brothers A. A. and M. A. Shcherbinin, D. I. Akhsharumov and others - became the first historians of the Patriotic War of 1812.

In their circle there were often conversations about “the Patriotic War, about the glory of the Russian name and weapons, about the spirit of the people, about the courage of the troops, about how long the glory of deeds that is not recorded on the tablets of history exists.”

On July 2, the army left Drissa and moved east. Analyzing the situation created at the beginning of July at the theater of military operations, the tsar wrote to the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Field Marshal N.I. Saltykov: “Deciding on a general battle is as delicate as refusing it. In both cases, the road to St. Petersburg can be easily opened, but having lost the battle, it will be difficult to recover to continue the campaign... The only way to hope to overcome it with the help of God is by continuing the war.”

Here Alexander left the army and went to Moscow.

The Tsar, leaving the army and entrusting it to Barclay, proceeded, in particular, from the fact that if Napoleon beat Barclay, it would be perceived much more calmly than if the same thing happened to the army when he himself was at its head. Saying goodbye to Barclay, the king said: “I entrust you with my army. Don’t forget that I don’t have another, and let this thought never leave you.” Barclay always remembered the tsar's parting words. In fact, it became the basis of his tactics for the near future - by saving the army, thereby saving Russia.

Leaving Polotsk, the tsar did not vest Barclay with the powers of commander-in-chief, to whom other armies would also be subordinate. The ambiguity of Barclay’s position was further enhanced by the fact that already on the third day of the war, when Alexander arrived in Sventsyany, he asked Arakcheev, who was there and was in his retinue, to “re-enter the management of military affairs.” As always, the unclear and incomprehensible formulation - “to take over the management of military affairs” under the current and not removed Minister of War - gave rise to additional friction between Barclay and Arakcheev, who was jealous of Mikhail Bogdanovich for the Tsar and did not love him. Arakcheev believed that from June 15, 1812, it was he who led all military affairs. “From that date,” he wrote, “the entire French war went through my hands: all the secret commands, reports and handwritten commands of the Emperor.”

This relationship was also affected by the fact that Barclay, Bagration, and Tormasov were equal in rank, with the only difference being that Tormasov received the rank of infantry general eight years earlier than the commanders-in-chief of the 1st and 2nd Western Armies, that According to the rules of rank production, it was considered very important in determining seniority.

Meanwhile, the connection of the 1st and 2nd armies became more and more difficult: Napoleon’s main forces were wedged between them, and the Russians had no choice but to retreat. On July 13, Osterman-Tolstoy’s corps entered a heavy battle with the French, and the next day it was supported by Konovnitsyn’s division. The 2nd Army, which was at that time more than a hundred miles south of the 1st, tried to break through to the north to connect with it, but this heroic attempt failed. Barclay, who also decided to fight his way towards Bagration, having learned about the failure of the breakthrough, changed plans and ordered to retreat further.

After enduring a long battle with the rearguard of the 1st Army, Napoleon stopped. He stood for about a week, giving the troops a rest, pulling up convoys, bringing in food and even more “collecting” it in the surrounding area. Napoleon's headquarters was located in Vitebsk, and here the first clash between the emperor and the marshals, who did not want to advance further, took place. Napoleon was adamant. “The conclusion of peace awaits me at the Moscow gates,” he answered the marshals.

While Napoleon stood in Vitebsk, Barclay broke away from him and on July 20 approached Smolensk. This maneuver caused great dissatisfaction among many Russians. They believed that the army should have stopped in front of Vitebsk and given the enemy a general battle. Bagration was especially indignant.

A direct and honest man, ardent and uncompromising, brought up under the banner of Suvorov and committed to his offensive tactics from a young age, he did not understand what was happening and could not put up with the continuous retreat. And although the 1st Army retreated to Smolensk in just over a month, this period seemed monstrously long to Bagration. Already on July 1, on the nineteenth day of the war, in a letter to the Tsar from Slutsk, he urgently demanded that Napoleon be given a general battle. Barclay's retreat from Vitebsk two weeks later infuriated Bagration. He wrote a letter to Barclay, full of reproaches, and argued that his withdrawal from Vitebsk opened the way for the French to Moscow. In his letters to Ermolov, he tried to build a system of evidence in such a way as to make the chief of staff of the 1st Army his ardent like-minded person.

However, Ermolov, as a competent and far-sighted strategist, could not agree with the commander of the 2nd Army. He understood the correctness of his commander’s strategic plan and in the current situation he saw his task as softening the relationship between Bagration and Barclay.

In a letter to his friend A.V. Kozodavlev, Ermolov subsequently wrote about Barclay: “He is unhappy because the campaign of 1812 is not in his favor outwardly, for he is constantly retreating, but the consequences justify him. What other remedy was there against the forces of all Europe? Those who reason are on his side; but the multitude or those who conclude by appearance are against it. There are many more of these latter, and there is no trust in him. I defend him not out of commitment to him, but certainly out of sheer justice.”

And the “pure justice” was such that exactly half of the “great army” approached Smolensk: in thirty-eight days of the war, Napoleon lost and left 200 thousand people in the rear garrisons. Honest opposition objectively harmed the cause, but much worse and more dangerous was the opposition, the center of which was the imperial headquarters. Clever and experienced courtiers, parquet shufflers, masters of gossip and intrigue gathered there. They grouped around the tsar's brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, a longtime ill-wisher of Mikhail Bogdanovich. Barclay's most active enemies in headquarters were generals Bennigsen, Armfeld and Rimsky-Korsakov. Outside the main apartment, Barclay had another dangerous enemy - the general on duty under the emperor - the all-powerful Arakcheev.

Thus, an extremely unhealthy climate was created around the leadership of the 1st Army. Only a decisive victory over the invaders could bring about a change for the better. At the same time, the general situation seemed conducive to this. When the 1st Army marched towards Smolensk, it was joined by Platov’s cavalry corps, which broke through the French battle formations. It soon became known that the entire 2nd Army was marching from Bykhov through Mstislavl to Smolensk. The long-awaited connection of the 1st and 2nd armies has happened!

On the second day after the 1st Western Army entered Smolensk, Bagration arrived there, accompanied by his best generals - Raevsky, Vasilchikov, Vorontsov, Paskevich and Borozdin. The joy of the meeting pushed aside all strife and troubles. Barclay met Bagration at the house of the Smolensk Governor-General, where he stopped, in full dress uniform, with his head uncovered, and hugged Pyotr Ivanovich in a friendly manner. On July 22, he wrote to the tsar: “My relations with Prince Bagration are the best. In the prince I found a straightforward character and full of the noblest feelings of patriotism. I explained the state of affairs to him, and we came to full agreement as to the measures to be taken. I even dare to say in advance that good unanimity has been established, and we will act in complete agreement.” Unfortunately, Barclay’s forecast did not come true; the “good unanimity” lasted less than a week, although in Smolensk both sincerely believed in it.

The union of the two armies was perceived by almost all soldiers and officers not only as a great success, but also as an indispensable - and quite sufficient - condition for the long-awaited victorious general battle, finally achieved through joint efforts. Barclay and Bagration, touring the battle formations of the troops, exchanged strong handshakes and friendly smiles in full view of the soldiers and officers. This gave strength and gave everyone confidence in victory. Barclay gave the order to prepare for the battle, and on July 25, a military council was convened, in which, in addition to Barclay and Bagration, the tsar’s brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the chiefs of staff and quartermaster generals of both armies participated. By this time, Napoleon’s troops were already converging on Smolensk from all sides, therefore, fearing an attack from the rear from the Porechye region, Barclay was not as unconditional about the immediate offensive as he had been two days before. He did not reject the very idea of ​​​​an offensive, but accompanied his attitude to an oncoming battle with a number of reservations. Closing the military council, he said the following: “The Emperor, having entrusted the army to me in Polotsk, said that he had no other... I must act with the greatest caution and try by all means to avoid its defeat. Therefore, it will be clear to you that I cannot, on my part, hesitate to begin offensive actions.”

The next day, both armies nevertheless set out to meet the French. After a series of maneuvers, the 1st Army stood on the Porechenskaya road, the 2nd Army south of it, on the road to Rudnya. The distance between the armies was equal to a day's march. For three days both armies stood in almost complete inactivity. Barclay was informed that during this time the main enemy forces had concentrated closer to the area where the 2nd Army was deployed. Therefore, he considered it necessary to retreat to the Rudny road. Bagration, without waiting for the 1st Army, moved back to Smolensk. However, Napoleon decided to get ahead of the Russians. On August 2, 185 thousand French troops crossed the Dnieper and moved to Smolensk. On their way, near the village of Krasnoye, a division of General Dmitry Petrovich Neverovsky stood. Having in its ranks 7 thousand unfired recruits, the division repelled forty attacks of the French cavalry in just one day and prevented the French from capturing Smolensk on the move. By the evening of August 4, the 1st and 2nd armies approached Smolensk. By this time, Raevsky's corps had decisively repulsed the attacks of Napoleonic vanguard.

Near Smolensk, Napoleon's 180,000-strong army was opposed by 120,000 Russians. Barclay painfully wondered whether it was possible to hope for success in the battle with such a balance of forces. And having once again weighed the pros and cons, I did not dare to fight a general battle. He ordered Bagration's army to leave Smolensk, and he himself remained to cover his retreat.

On the high right bank of the Dnieper, Barclay placed artillery and there, opposite the suburb of Rachenki, he placed his command post. Gunfire began at eight in the morning, and two hours later the French launched an attack, but were unable to break into the city until mid-afternoon. Then Napoleon sent three corps at once to storm Smolensk - Ney, Davout and Poniatovsky.

In Smolensk, the regiments of Dmitry Sergeevich Dokhturov, Pyotr Petrovich Konovnitsyn and Prince Eugene of Württemberg stood in the way of the marshals and Poniatovsky. The stubborn battle lasted until nightfall. The French were unable to achieve even the slightest success. The Russians stood unwavering. French losses were approaching 20 thousand, the Russians lost half as much. Barclay again faced the question: should he go on a counteroffensive? All the generals of the 1st Army were for this, as well as Bagration, Bennigsen and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. However, after weighing all the circumstances, Barclay ordered the abandonment of Smolensk.

On the morning of August 6, the army and thousands of Smolensk residents left the city. In a letter to Barclay, already quoted, the Tsar reproached both Barclay and Bagration for their actions near Smolensk and in the city itself. He wrote: “Major mistakes made by Prince Bagration, which led to the enemy preempting him at Minsk, Borisov and Mogilev, forced you to leave the banks of the Dvina and retreat to Smolensk. Fate favored you, since, contrary to all probability, the union of two armies took place.

Then it is time to stop retreating. But the lack of information that you, general, had about the enemy and his movements, was strongly felt throughout the entire campaign and forced you to make the mistake of going to Porechye in order to attack his left flank, while he concentrated all his forces on his right flank at Lyada, where he crossed the Dnieper. You repeated this mistake, warning the enemy in Smolensk: since both armies united there and since your plans included giving the enemy a general battle sooner or later, did it really matter whether you gave it at Smolensk or at Tsarev-Zaimishche? Our forces would have been intact, since there would not have been the losses that we suffered on the 6th, 7th and the following days until Tsarev-Zamishche. As for the danger of being outflanked, it would be the same everywhere; you would not have avoided it even at Tsarev-Zaimishche.

In Smolensk, the zeal of the soldiers would be extraordinary, since this would be the first truly Russian city that they would have to defend from the enemy.”

For the Russian retreat, the village of Lubino was of great importance, through which Barclay had to reach the Moscow road. The army marched to Lubin through Krakhotkino and Gorbunovo. This path was longer than the one the French took. The head of the vanguard, Pavel Alekseevich Tuchkov, covered the Lubinsk intersection with his detachment. After a fierce battle, the Russians retreated across the Strogan River. Tuchkov personally reported to Barclay that he could no longer resist the enemy. Barclay ordered Tuchkov to return. With the sharpness that was characteristic of him in the most critical moments, he said to the general: “If you come here again, I will have you shot.”

The retreat from Smolensk completely ruined the relationship between Barclay and Bagration: from that moment until the Battle of Borodino, Prince Pyotr Ivanovich considered Barclay’s tactics disastrous for Russia, and himself the main culprit of everything.

In letters to the tsar, to Arakcheev, to all dignitaries and military leaders, Bagration demanded that another commander be placed over the armies, who would enjoy everyone’s trust and would finally stop the retreat.

Bagration's voice was the voice of the majority of soldiers, officers and generals of all Russian armies. The king could not help but listen to them.

On August 5, Alexander instructed the emergency committee specially created for this to resolve the issue of commander-in-chief. It included the six closest people to the Tsar: Field Marshal N. I. Saltykov - Chairman of the State Council and Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Chairman of the Military Department of the State Council A. A. Arakcheev, Minister of Police Lieutenant General S. K. Vyazmitinov, Adjutant General A.D. Balashov, Prince P.V. Lopukhin - one of the main figures of the State Council - and Count V.P. Kochubey - diplomat and adviser to the Tsar. The composition of the committee was determined not so much by the positions of its members as by personal closeness to Alexander. From the old man Saltykov, formerly the chief educator of Alexander and his brother Konstantin, to the relatively young ones - Lopukhin and Kochubey - all members of the committee were friends of the tsar. They discussed five candidates - Bennigsen, Bagration, Tormasov and 67-year-old Count Palen, the organizer of the assassination of Emperor Paul, who had been in retirement for eleven years. Kutuzov was named fifth, and his candidacy was immediately recognized as the only one worthy of such a high appointment. The Emergency Committee immediately presented its recommendation to the Emperor.

However, Alexander made the final decision only three days later - on August 8. The tsar connected his decision with the abandonment of Smolensk. All in the same letter dated November 24, 1812, Alexander wrote to Barclay: “The loss of Smolensk made a huge impression throughout the entire empire. The general disapproval of our campaign plan was also joined by reproaches, they said: “Experience will show how disastrous this plan is, the empire is in imminent danger,” and since your mistakes, which I mentioned above, were on everyone’s lips, I was accused the fact that I sacrificed the good of the Fatherland to my pride, wanting to support the choice made in your person.

Moscow and St. Petersburg unanimously pointed to Prince Kutuzov as the only person who, in their words, could save the Fatherland. In support of these arguments, they said that in terms of seniority you were comparatively younger than Tormasov, Bagration and Chichagov; that this circumstance was detrimental to the success of military operations and that this inconvenience of high importance would be completely eliminated with the appointment of Prince Kutuzov. The circumstances were too critical. For the first time, the capital of the state was in a dangerous position, and I had no choice but to yield to general opinion, forcing me to first discuss the issue of pros and cons in a council composed of the most important dignitaries of the empire. By yielding to their opinion, I had to suppress my personal feelings.”

Alexander was insincere and simply lied to his general: Smolensk was abandoned on August 6, and the emergency committee was convened a day earlier - on the 5th, when fighting was still going on in Smolensk. However, Alexander, being in St. Petersburg, did not yet know about this. On August 5, he knew that the 1st and 2nd armies were waiting for Napoleon near Smolensk.

Nevertheless, the decision was made, and on August 8, M.I. Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief.

Rescripts of the same content were immediately sent to Tormasov, Bagration, Barclay and Chichagov: “Various important inconveniences that occurred after the unification of the two armies impose on me the necessary duty to appoint one chief commander over all of them. For this purpose I chose Prince Kutuzov, a general from the infantry, to whom I subordinate all four armies. As a result, I order you and the army entrusted to you to be in his exact command. I am confident that your love for the Fatherland and zeal for service will open the way for you in this case to new merits, which I will be very pleased to recognize with appropriate awards.”

Having received the appointment, Kutuzov wrote a letter to Barclay and on his own behalf. In this letter, he notified Mikhail Bogdanovich of his imminent arrival in the army and expressed hope for the success of their joint service. Barclay received the letter on August 15 and responded to Kutuzov as follows: “In such a cruel and extraordinary war, on which the very fate of our Fatherland depends, everything must contribute to only one goal and everything must receive its direction from one source of united forces. Now, under the leadership of Your Lordship, we will strive with united zeal to achieve a common goal - and may the Fatherland be saved!”

On August 11, Sunday, Kutuzov left St. Petersburg to join the army. Crowds of people stood on his route, seeing off the commander with flowers and heartfelt wishes for success.

At the first station - in Izhora - Kutuzov met a courier from the army and opened the letter. It reported on the capture of Smolensk by the French.

“The key to Moscow has been taken!” - Kutuzov exclaimed.

On August 17, at three o'clock in the afternoon, he arrived in the village of Tsarevo-Zaimishche, where by the same time almost the entire 1st Army had arrived.

Barclay handed over command outwardly calmly. However, his pride, of course, was wounded. Subsequently, talking about the transfer to Kutuzov of all the prerogatives that he had lost in connection with his arrival in the army, Barclay wrote to the tsar: “Avoiding a decisive battle, I carried the enemy along with me and removed him from his sources, approaching my own; I weakened him in private matters, in which I always had the upper hand. When I almost completed this plan and was ready to give a decisive battle, Prince Kutuzov took command of the army.”

Kutuzov found the troops preparing for battle - the construction of fortifications was in full swing, reserves were approaching, regiments were taking up combat positions. The commander-in-chief inspected the positions, toured the troops, greeted everywhere by stormy jubilation, and... gave the order to retreat. He did not want to take risks and could not allow himself to be defeated on the very first day of his arrival to the army. In addition, Kutuzov knew that Miloradovich’s reserves were approaching, and even further in the rear, thousands of Moscow militia were preparing to go on a campaign.

The army retreated, waging bloody battles with the enemy pressing on its rearguards.

On August 23, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd armies reached a large field located 124 kilometers from Moscow between the Old and New Smolensk roads. In the center of the field are the village of Borodino and the village of Semenovskoye, in the south - the village of Utitsa, in the north - the village of Zakharyino. In a space of about 50 square kilometers, two armies finally came together, approximately equal in strength to each other: there were about 120 thousand Russians, about 135 French.

On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, Barclay and General A.I. Kutaisov, chief of artillery of the 1st Army, spent the night in a peasant hut. Barclay was sad, wrote all night and dozed off only before dawn, sealing what he wrote in an envelope and hiding it in his coat pocket. Kutaisov, on the contrary, before falling asleep, joked, chatted and had fun. He wrote everything he considered necessary. His last letter, his testament, was an order for the artillery of the 1st Army: “Confirm in all companies that they do not withdraw from their positions until the enemy sits astride the guns.

Tell the commanders and all gentlemen officers that only by courageously holding on to the closest grapeshot can we achieve the goal of giving the enemy a single step of our position. Artillery must sacrifice itself. Let them take you with the guns, but fire the last shot of grapeshot at point-blank range”...

Kutaisov did not know that tomorrow he would be killed and that he would not live four days before his twenty-eighth birthday.

For Barclay, Kutaisov and the entire headquarters of the 1st Army, the battle began with the first shot. “At sunrise,” wrote Barclay’s adjutant V.I. Levenstern, “a heavy fog arose. General Barclay, in full dress uniform, wearing orders and a hat with a black feather, stood with his headquarters on a battery behind the village of Borodino... Cannonade was heard from all sides. The village of Borodino, located at our feet, was occupied by the brave Life Guards Jaeger Regiment. The fog that covered the plain at that time hid the strong enemy columns advancing directly on him.

General Barclay, who was overlooking the entire area from the hill, guessed what danger the Jaeger Regiment was in, and sent me to him with the order that he immediately set out from the village and destroy the bridge behind him... After the case at the Borodino Bridge, General Barclay went down the hill and drove around the whole line. Cannonballs and grenades literally tore up the ground throughout the entire space. Barclay thus rode in front of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments. Well done grenadiers greeted him, standing calmly, with true military bearing.”

However, Napoleon delivered the main blow on the left flank, and Barclay, correctly assessing the situation, sent four infantry regiments and eight grenadier battalions to help Bagration, and after that another four cavalry regiments.

Reinforcements arrived on time. It was at these moments that Bagration was seriously wounded. When they were bandaging him, lying on the ground, he saw Barclay's adjutant next to him. “Tell General Barclay that the fate of the army and its salvation depend on him. So far everything is going well. May God protect him."

These words cost Bagration a lot. They meant complete reconciliation with Barclay and recognition of his perseverance and contained more than friendly parting words and wishes for success. Consistent and very definite in his likes and dislikes, Bagration did not bend his soul this time either. The wounded Bagration was carried away, and division commander P.P. Konovnitsyn took command of the 2nd Army.

Barclay himself, having gathered the 2nd and 3rd cavalry corps and a brigade of guards cuirassiers, rushed into battle against the French cavalry corps. Near Barclay, two officers were killed and nine were wounded. Four horses fell under him, but he did not leave the battle until this grandiose slaughter ended in victory. Late in the evening, Kutuzov summoned Barclay and ordered him to prepare to continue the battle the next morning. Barclay gave all the necessary orders to the generals of the 1st Army, but at midnight he received an order from Kutuzov to retreat.

In the last days of August, the Russian army approached Moscow. Here, in the village of Fili, on September 1, a military council was held to discuss the advisability of a new general battle to defend Moscow or to leave Moscow without a fight. Barclay spoke first. He said: “The main goal is not to defend Moscow, but to defend the Fatherland, for which it is first of all necessary to preserve the army. The position is unfavorable, and the army is in undoubted danger of being defeated. In case of defeat, everything that the enemy does not get on the battlefield will be destroyed during the retreat through Moscow. It’s hard to leave the capital, but if courage is not lost and operations are carried out actively, the capture of Moscow may lead to the enemy’s death.”

Bennigsen, Ermolov, Uvarov and Dokhturov, who followed Barclay, rejected the idea of ​​retreat and demanded a new battle.

Objecting to them, Barclay said: “This should have been thought about earlier and the troops deployed accordingly. It's too late now. At night it is impossible to move troops along impassable ditches, and the enemy may attack us before we have time to take a new position.”

After listening to all the participants in the military council, Kutuzov said: “I see that I will have to pay for the broken pots, but I sacrifice myself for the good of the Fatherland. I order you to retreat." Thus, at the most decisive moment of the war, the points of view of Barclay de Tolly and Kutuzov, completely coinciding, predetermined the further course of events. This indicated that Kutuzov’s strategy at this stage of the war coincided with Barclay’s strategy and was, in fact, its continuation. Kutuzov went ahead, instructing Barclay to organize the army's retreat through Moscow.

After the Battle of Borodino, where Russian losses exceeded forty thousand people, it was inappropriate to maintain the previous division of troops into two armies, especially since the route of their movement completely coincided. The remnants of Bagration's army were merged with Barclay's army, but his own position was also purely conditional - above him was the commander-in-chief, and above the headquarters of the 1st Army was the headquarters of the commander-in-chief.

In addition, the order soon came to dismiss Barclay from the post of Minister of War. On top of everything else, Mikhail Bogdanovich fell ill with a fever and on September 19 submitted a report to Kutuzov about his dismissal from the post of commander of the 1st Western Army. On September 21, the day the Russian army entered the Tarutino position, Kutuzov granted his request. Thus, Barclay went with the army along its entire sorrowful path - from Vilna to Tarutino. This journey lasted exactly one hundred days. It ran through Smolensk, Borodino and Moscow, not becoming the path of victory, but forever remaining in the history of Russia as a path of honor and glory.

Meanwhile, Napoleon entered Moscow. Standing on the brink of death, he thought that he was at the pinnacle of power and glory. Much later, on the island of St. Helena, he said: “I should have died immediately after entering Moscow.” Waiting for a delegation of “boyars” on Poklonnaya Hill, he could not imagine that just two years later regiments of the Russian guard returning from Paris would pass through here. And he could not imagine that the surrender of his capital would be accepted by Russian Field Marshal Barclay.

On September 24, 1812, Barclay wrote to the Tsar from Kaluga: “Sovereign! My health is upset, and my moral and physical strength are undermined to such an extent that now here in the army, I certainly cannot be useful in the service... and this reason prompted me to ask Prince Kutuzov for permission to retire from the army to restore my health .

Sovereign! I would like to find expressions to describe to you the deep sadness that consumes my heart, seeing myself forced to leave the army with which I wanted to live and die ... "

Being out of the army for just over four months, Barclay spent a significant part of this time comprehending what had happened to him personally and, above all, comprehending what had happened to the entire army. The results of these thoughts resulted in the “Notes” he compiled, which he planned to write while still leaving the army, as can be seen from a letter to his wife from Tula: “Get ready for a solitary and meager lifestyle, sell everything that you consider unnecessary, but keep only my library, the collection of maps and manuscripts in my office.”

Saying goodbye to his adjutant V.I. Levenstern, Barclay said: “A great job has been done. Now all that remains is to reap the harvest... I consider Napoleon defeated from the moment he entered Moscow. I handed over to the field marshal an army preserved, well dressed, armed and not demoralized. This gives me the greatest right to the gratitude of the people, who now, perhaps, will throw a stone at me, but later will give me justice.” Barclay did not know that his words about “the stone that the people will now throw” were not figurative. A few days after leaving Tarutino, Barclay’s traveling carriage stopped at one of the post stations near Vladimir.

Either because there was some kind of holiday, or for some other reason, there were a lot of idle people near the stationmaster’s house when Barclay went there. As soon as the people found out who was in the house, they immediately gathered in a crowd and began shouting and swearing, calling Barclay a traitor and not wanting to let him out to the crew. Barclay's adjutant A.A. Zakrevsky, drawing his saber, paved the way to the cart and forced the driver to drive. (Perhaps the passions of the crowd flared up because just these days, P.I. Bagration died in the village of Sima, Vladimir province. It is possible that the residents of Vladimir were aware of the late prince’s hostility to Barclay and considered Barclay to be the indirect culprit in the death of Pyotr Ivanovich.)

It is possible that it was this incident that served as the impetus and forced Barclay to take up his pen. Be that as it may, after what happened, Barclay, having reached the place, began compiling “Notes”. He sent their first version to the Tsar on October 25, 1812, and wrote subsequent versions later.

The main purpose of the Notes was to justify their actions at all stages of the war. Barclay claimed that the army's retreat was carried out according to a plan adopted in advance in St. Petersburg, and, thus, was not his own arbitrary decision. Barclay also argued that the strategy he chose was the only correct one in the situation that developed in the summer of 1812.

On October 25, Barclay wrote from Vladimir: “Most gracious sir!.. Having attached a report on the actions of the 1st and 2nd Western armies during the current campaign and on the direct reasons for their retreat, I take the liberty... to pray to you... for an order to publish it (report ) through public records."

From Vladimir, Barclay moved to the northwest, aiming to arrive at his Estonian estate. On November 9, Barclay sent a “Report” to the Tsar from Novgorod, which Alexander soon received, but due to his busy schedule he did not immediately respond. The response of Alexander I, dated November 24 (already mentioned), represents a document without which it is impossible to correctly understand the personal attitude towards Barclay at the end of 1812.

“General,” Alexander wrote, “I received your letter dated November 9. You don’t know me well if you could even doubt for a minute your right to come to St. Petersburg without my permission. I’ll even tell you that I was waiting for you, because I sincerely wanted to talk with you face to face. But since you did not want to do justice to my character, I will try in a few words to convey to you my real way of thinking about you and the events. The affection and respect that I have never ceased to have for you gives me this right.” Having further outlined the assessments already known to us of the events that took place in June - August 1812, the tsar concluded the letter as follows.

“I just have to preserve for you the opportunity to prove to Russia and Europe that you were worthy of my choice when I appointed you commander-in-chief. I assumed that you would be happy to remain with the army and earn the respect of even your detractors with your military prowess, which is what you did at Borodin.

You would certainly have achieved this goal, of which I have not the slightest doubt, if you had remained with the army, and therefore, having an invariable affection for you, I learned about your departure with a feeling of deep regret. Despite the troubles that oppressed you so much, you should have stayed, because there are times when you need to put yourself above the circumstances. Convinced that in order to preserve your reputation you will remain with the army, I relieved you of the post of Minister of War, since it was inconvenient for you to act as minister when your senior in rank was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army in which you were located. In addition, I know from experience that commanding an army and being at the same time a minister of war is incompatible for human strength. Here, General, is a truthful account of the events as they actually happened and how I assessed them. I will never forget the significant services you provided to the Fatherland and to me, and I want to believe that you will provide even more outstanding ones. Although the present circumstances are most favorable for us in view of the situation in which the enemy is placed, the struggle is not yet over, and therefore you have the opportunity to put forward your military prowess, which is beginning to be given justice.

All yours.

Forgive me for being late in replying, but writing took me several days due to my daily work.”

The answer was found by Barclay in his Bekhof estate. Barclay thanked the Tsar for his gracious letter and immediately submitted a petition for reinstatement in the army. However, the correspondence dedicated to this did not end. Two months after Alexander’s lengthy answer, which seemed to close the problem, Barclay, in a letter to the Tsar dated January 27, 1813, wrote: “I would not justify this trust if, in conducting operations, I had set myself the goal of a brilliant campaign, which would be associated with my personal, my own glory, and not the successful outcome of the war through the very destruction of the enemy!.. I assured Your Majesty that I will not expose your army, the only support of the Fatherland, to the danger of useless or untimely death, and if I am not able to inflict decisive blows on the enemy first, then all my hope will be based on campaigning late in the year. I kept my promise..."

This letter to Alexander seemed to draw a line under everything that had happened earlier.

He stood at the head of the 3rd Army, which had previously been commanded by Admiral P.V. Chichagov, who had been removed from command by the Tsar after repeated requests for resignation, regarding which on January 31, 1813, Kutuzov wrote to Barclay: “On the occasion of the illness of Admiral Chichagov, the Emperor gives the highest orders to the command of your army, led by him... I ask, Your Excellency, to hasten to arrive at your new destination in the village of Pivnitsa, which is near Thorn.” On the same day, Kutuzov announced the appointment of Barclay instead of the now former commander of the 3rd Army, Admiral P.V. Chichagov.

Having received the 3rd Army, Barclay reported to His Serene Highness on February 5 in report No. 1: “... in terms of the number of people in the regiments here, this army bears only one name, constituting, however, nothing more than a detachment: most of the regiments belonging to it are in in distant corps and detachments, which due to their remoteness do not even have the necessary communications - many brigades are not in their form, so one regiment or battalion is located here, while others are in distant corps and detachments, while some have gone into disbandment.”

Wanting to rectify the current situation, Barclay further proposed the following: “Therefore, in order to preserve a possible structure in the army, would it not please Your Lordship to order either only those separated from their brigades to be attached to them, or to form new brigades from the different brigades remaining here, because if further will remain in their current position, then without proper supervision over their internal management, as well as the commanders actually appointed to them, and passing from hand to hand, these troops may finally disappear completely. I have the honor to submit all this for your lordship’s consideration and ask your permission.”

On April 4, after a fierce artillery shelling, Toruń capitulated. The French governor Mavilon handed over the keys to the fortress to Barclay, and on the same day Barclay received an order from Kutuzov to redeploy the siege artillery and all the released troops to the Modlin fortress, entrusting them to Lieutenant General Oppermann, and to move to Frankfurt-on-Oder, and 23 April, after the death of Kutuzov, which followed on April 16, 1813 in the small Silesian town of Bunzlau, Barclay's army entered Frankfurt-on-Oder. On May 7, in a battle near Koenigswart, which lasted many hours, she destroyed up to 3 thousand enemy soldiers and captured more than 2 thousand. This battle was a prelude to the Battle of Bautzen, which took place on 8 and 9 May. The battle was lost by the allied forces, and Wittgenstein, who commanded the united Russian-Prussian army after Kutuzov, was replaced by Barclay, who by that time had won the battle of Koenigswart on May 7, strengthening his reputation in the eyes of the allied monarchs, for which he received the highest order of the Russian Empire - St. Andrew the First-Called.

Under Bautzen, he was one of many allied generals who acted without mistakes. He managed to bring 12 thousand of his soldiers to the start of the battle, but this did not change the course of the battle: the 96 thousand-strong Russian-Prussian army could not withstand the onslaught of 143 thousand French.

The change of commander-in-chief this time proceeded completely differently than nine months ago, in August 1812. Wittgenstein not only himself recommended Barclay to his place, but also wrote to the Tsar that he “would consider it a pleasure to be under his command.”

When Barclay assumed this post, hostilities were suspended: from May 23 to June 29, a truce was in effect, during which the Allied forces increased not only due to the arrival of reserve contingents, but also due to new, Austrian and Swedish troops. At the same time, a new, sixth anti-Napoleonic coalition took shape, consisting of Russia, Prussia, Austria, Sweden and England.

In connection with the entry of new participants into the fight against Napoleon, serious changes occurred in the composition and structure of the Allied armed forces.

These forces were consolidated into three armies - the Bohemian, or Main (commander - Schwarzenberg), Silesian (commander - Prussian Field Marshal Blücher) and the Northern (commander - Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte, former marshal of Napoleon). Napoleon's recent ally, the Austrian field marshal, Prince Schwarzenberg, was elected commander-in-chief of all three allied armies. In the new situation, Barclay took a much more modest post - commander of the Russian-Prussian reserve, part of the Bohemian army. This group consisted of 78 thousand Russians and 49 thousand Prussians, which was equal to 127 thousand people and made up a little more than one quarter of the allied forces. (Their total number by the fall of 1813 reached 492 thousand with 1383 guns.)

The Allied offensive began on August 3. On August 10, the Bohemian Army also moved forward to Dresden. Napoleon himself came forward to meet her. In the two-day battle of Dresden on August 14–15, 1813, the Allies, commanded by Schwarzenberg, were defeated and retreated to Bohemia. The French began pursuing the retreating troops, intending to cut off their escape routes. The 37,000-strong column that tried to block the Allies' retreat was commanded by General Vandamm. If he had managed to cut off the retreating army’s path to Bohemia, then the Allies would hardly have been able to avoid complete defeat.

With a swift and unexpected maneuver for the French, Barclay blocked the way for Vandamme’s troops and surrounded them, imposing a battle of destruction. This battle, which took place near the village of Kulm on August 17–18, went down in the history of military art as a high example of tactical skill.

At Kulm, the divisions of A. I. Osterman-Tolstoy, D. V. Golitsyn, N. N. Raevsky, M. A. Miloradovich showed miracles of courage and perseverance. A.P. Ermolov became the true hero of Kulm. Barclay himself received the Order of George V class for Kulm, which before him in 1812 was awarded only to M. I. Kutuzov. The defeat at Kulm forced Napoleon a month later to begin a retreat to Leipzig, where on October 4–7, 1813, the most ambitious of the battles of Napoleonic troops took place, which went down in history as the “Battle of the Nations.” More than 500 thousand people took part in it on both sides. Napoleon lost about 80 thousand in it. Allied losses, amounting to about 53 thousand, although serious, still did not matter so much in the overall balance of forces and allowed them to maintain the strategic initiative.

After Leipzig, Napoleon was unable to regain either advantage or activity until the very end of the war. Military operations were soon transferred to French territory. This happened in December 1813; The main forces of the Allies crossed the Rhine and moved into the interior of the country. The first major battle of 1814 took place on January 17, two hundred kilometers southeast of Paris at Brienne. The French were commanded by Napoleon, and among other generals Barclay, who was at that time in Blucher's army, opposed him. At Brienne, Napoleon was almost captured. On December 25, 1815, he told the Count of Las Casas, who shared his imprisonment on the island of St. Helena: “At Brienne, I fought off the Cossacks with a sword, standing under the tree where I read “Jerusalem Liberated” as an eleven-year-old cadet.” And three days later there was a battle in which Barclay won another victory.

The battle took place six kilometers south of Brienne, near the village of La Rotière. (Military historians sometimes call these two battles the Battle of Brienne.) Two Allied armies - the Silesian, under the command of Blücher, and the Austrian, under the command of Schwarzenberg - numbering about 72 thousand people, engaged the forty thousand strong French army. In this battle, Barclay commanded a 27,000-strong corps of Russian troops and at the decisive moment delivered a decisive blow. The French could not withstand the onslaught of the Russian columns and were put to flight along the entire front. For this victory, Alexander awarded Barclay a golden sword, decorated with diamonds and laurels, with the inscription: “For the battle of January 20, 1814.”

Then Barclay had a chance to fight on March 8–9 at Arcis-sur-Aube and on March 13 on the approaches to Paris at Fère-Champenoise. On March 18, Barclay entered the streets of Paris. He commanded the troops that occupied the heights in the east of the French capital, between Romainville and the Pantheon, and then advanced to Belleville. At this time, the Russian troops of General Count A.F. Langeron approached the heights of Montmartre, which dominated Paris. The fall of the French capital was becoming inevitable.

By order of Alexander I, the Allied parliamentarians began negotiations on the capitulation of Paris. Meanwhile, Alexander, driving around the Russian troops at Belleville and Chaumont, congratulated them on their victory, knowing that the hour of triumph had struck. Barclay was riding next to the tsar at this time, when suddenly he took Mikhail Bogdanovich by the hand and congratulated him on the rank of field marshal.

Barclay became the 41st field marshal general in the history of the Russian army. Besides him, during the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns, only Kutuzov was awarded the rank of field marshal. It is interesting that the next six field marshals, up to M. S. Vorontsov, who received this title in 1856, were all participants in the wars with Napoleon.

At the same hours, Russian soldiers ascended Montmartre, dragged guns there, but, expecting surrender, did not open fire on the city: none of them wanted Paris to be burned for the fire of Moscow.

On May 18, 1814, a peace treaty was signed between the allies and the new government of France. Four days after this, the Tsar, together with the Prussian King Frederick William III, accompanied by a large and magnificent retinue, set off for London. Barclay also went to England with the Tsar. The Tsar was also accompanied by heroes of the last war: Platov, Tolstoy, Chernyshov, Uvarov, prominent diplomats and courtiers - K. V. Neselrode, Adam Czartoryski and Ozherovski; Chancellor Hardenberg, Prussian field marshals Blücher and York, and the outstanding scientist Wilhelm Humboldt were traveling with the Prussian king.

On May 26, the guests landed at Dover. The next three weeks were filled with gala receptions, balls and celebrations, which greatly burdened Barclay, who would have preferred sightseeing in London to this. But the position of the senior military man obliged him to follow the king everywhere. On the other hand, the visit to England turned out to be useful in that relations between him and the monarch improved.

In October 1814, Barclay received command of the 1st Army, whose headquarters were located in Warsaw. This time too it was the largest army in Russia. Barclay was pleased with his appointment - away from St. Petersburg, he was given almost complete independence. And this independence would have been even more complete if the commander-in-chief of the Polish army, Tsarevich Konstantin, a long-time ill-wisher of Mikhail Bogdanovich, had not sat as the sovereign’s governor in Warsaw.

In the spring of 1815, having learned about Napoleon's escape from the island of Elba and landing in the south of France, Barclay almost simultaneously received an order for his army to set out on a campaign. Ermolov’s corps set out with him from Krakow. The field marshal and his troops walked quickly along the roads of the Czech Republic and Southern Germany that were well known to him, however, before reaching the Rhine, he learned about Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo and his subsequent abdication of the throne. Barclay's army continued the campaign and entered France, occupying Paris for the second time on July 6.

The “Corsican monster” was finished. However, in France it was decided to leave the occupation corps and withdraw the bulk of the troops from the country. Before sending the Russian army home, Alexander, for political reasons, decided to demonstrate to his allies the beauty and strength of his troops. It was decided to hold a show in Vertu - 120 kilometers from Paris. This grand parade was supposed to last for several days. On August 26 - the day of the Borodino anniversary - a preliminary review-rehearsal was planned, on August 29 - the main review, in the presence of all the allied monarchs, and on the 30th - on the emperor's name day - the final parade.

An army of 150 thousand people with 540 guns was commanded by Barclay. 132 infantry battalions, 168 cavalry squadrons and 45 artillery batteries showed impeccable training and bearing, precision of movements and coordinated maneuvers. Ermolov wrote about this to his brother A. M. Kakhovsky: “The condition of our troops is amazing. There are troops from all over Europe, and there is no one like the Russian soldier!”

For the brilliant condition of the army entrusted to him, Barclay was granted the title of prince on the same day.

In the fall of 1815, the bulk of the Russian troops left France. Barclay returned to his homeland. This time his headquarters were located in the provincial city of Mogilev. He still commanded the 1st Army, only its numbers had increased even more. After 1815, it included in its ranks almost two-thirds of the Russian ground forces.

By this time, Barclay had become a military leader of such magnitude who could no longer solve global issues of combat training and troop training in isolation from public life in the broadest sense of the word. He could not help but be concerned about the situation of the peasants, the problems of military settlements, and the fate of retired soldiers. He reflected on these problems and saw the closest connection and interdependence between the serfdom of Russia and Arakcheevism, between cane discipline in the army and the merciless suppression in society of even the slightest hint of civil liberties. Understanding all this, he remained a faithful servant of the tsar, but tried, at least in the ranks of the 1st Army, to make the life of soldiers worthy of a person and not allow violence, cruelty and tyranny to flourish here.

His ideas about the duty of commanders towards their subordinates were most concentrated in the “Instructions”, which he compiled at the beginning of 1815, even before the 1st Army entered France. Along with the requirement of strict discipline and conscientious attitude to service, Barclay demanded to treat people with care, to cultivate in them courage, endurance, and a love of neatness. “The meek and noble treatment of superiors with subordinates,” said the “Instructions,” “does not harm order, does not upset rank, but, on the contrary, gives rise to that true and useful ambition with which everyone should be inspired; the destruction of these noble feelings of honor degrades the spirit, takes away desire and instead of trust in superiors gives rise to hatred and distrust.”

This attitude towards the soldier was not just the direct opposite of the cane discipline imposed in the Russian army, but was perceived as an open challenge to the entire system of measures, the inspirer and organizer of which was the field marshal’s longtime enemy, Arakcheev.

Arakcheevism received its most vivid and complete expression in the so-called “military settlements.” Barclay was a principled opponent of military settlements from the very beginning. He knew that the tsar stood behind Arakcheev, but nevertheless, when he, as the Minister of War (this was in 1810), received a draft on the creation of military settlements, Barclay gave a sharply negative review. Returning to this issue in 1817, he wrote: “Who and how will prove that he (a villager. - Ed.) instead of the desired prosperity, will not fall under burdens several times greater and more unbearable than the poorest landowner peasant!”

His attitude towards military settlements, which he retained throughout his life, ensured Barclay's lifelong and persistent hostility to Arakcheev.

In the spring of 1818, Barclay went to Germany for treatment on the waters. His path lay through East Prussia. Here Barclay became seriously ill and died on May 13, 1818. This happened near the city of Insterburg, on the poor manor of Stilitzen. From Stilitzen the funeral cortege went to Riga. On May 30, a funeral service was celebrated in the presence of Governor General Marquis Paulucci. Under the ringing of bells, mourning music and the roar of artillery salutes, the remains of the field marshal were transported to the cemetery chapel at the garrison church.

A few days later, the coffin with the commander’s ashes was brought to his eternal resting place - to the family estate of his wife Elena Ivanovna Barclay, née Smitten. Here in 1823, the widow of the commander built a magnificent mausoleum, which became a landmark of the region. It was built according to the design of the architect A.F. Shchedrin. The sculptural image of the commander and the complex multi-faceted bas-relief depicting the entry of Russian troops into Paris, as well as the entire tombstone, were made by the professor of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the talented sculptor V. I. Demut-Malinovsky.

The figure of Barclay, his fate, full of greatness and tragedy, attracted not only artists. It has occupied Pushkin for a long time. He addressed this topic more than once. Most often, however, these were fragmentary episodes or fleeting sketches, which, however, were not devoid of depth of thought and breadth of generalizations. The last work, large, significant and entirely dedicated to him, was written during the years of Pushkin’s civic and creative maturity, less than six months before the poet’s tragic death.

The poem was called “Commander” and was not just a panegyric to Barclay, but was a wide and bright poetic canvas, on which the “chiefs of our people’s forces” stood around the figure of the field marshal “in a close crowd,” and the text of the poem touched upon large and important historical and philosophical problems .

The publication of “The Commander” evoked rave reviews from his contemporaries. “Barclay is lovely!” - wrote A.I. Turgenev to P.A. Vyazemsky. And in October 1836, N.I. Grech wrote to Pushkin: “I cannot resist pouring out before you from the fullness of my heart sincere feelings of deep respect and gratitude for your talent and its noblest use. With this poem, exemplary in its external decoration, you proved to the world that Russia has in you a true poet, a zealot of honor, a priest of truth.” Pushkin responded to this letter to Grech this way: “I sincerely thank you for your kind word about my commander. Barclay's stoic face is one of the most remarkable in our history. I don’t know whether he can be fully justified in regard to the art of war, but his character will remain forever worthy of wonder and worship.”

In “The Commander,” Pushkin, with brilliant insight, reveals what has been a mystery to many for many years. His Barclay is a man “impenetrable to the gaze of the wild mob.” He silently goes his way “with a great thought.” But the mob does not understand him and mocks him, disliking the “alien sound” in his name and “cursing his sacred gray hair.” But Barclay, strengthened by the powerful conviction of his own rightness, went his own way further, remaining “steadfast in the face of common error.” Finally, Pushkin also talks about how Barclay handed over the reins of power to Kutuzov:

And halfway through I had to finally
Silently yield and the laurel crown,
And power, and a plan thought out deeply,
And it’s lonely to hide in the regimental ranks.

There, the poet says, “like a young warrior, you sought to die in the midst of a battle,” of course, meaning Borodin’s “combat battle.” Meanwhile, Kutuzov, following the same road as Barclay, “acquired the success hidden in your head,” the poet addresses the disgraced commander, who carried out the plan of retreat, which brought Napoleon to the brink of disaster.

The same ideas, presented by Pushkin in poetic form, were formulated by him in prose: “His retreat, which is now a clear and necessary action, seemed not at all like that: not only did the bitter and indignant people grumble, but even experienced warriors bitterly reproached him and almost they called him a traitor to his face. Barclay, who does not inspire confidence in the army under his control, surrounded by enmity, vulnerable to slander, but always convinced, silently moving towards his secret goal and ceding power, without having time to justify himself before the eyes of Russia, will remain forever in history as a highly poetic figure.”

Pushkin was not alone in his sympathy for Barclay and respect for his memory. The progressive people of the era, who thought about the course of events, weighed all the pros and cons, could not help but recognize the strategic correctness of the commander. “The feat of Barclay de Tolly is great, his fate is tragically sad and capable of arousing indignation in a great poet,” wrote V. G. Belinsky, “but the thinker, blessing the memory of Barclay de Tolly and reverently before his sacred feat, cannot blame his contemporaries, seeing in this phenomenon a reasonable and immutable necessity.” And the future Decembrist M.A. Fonvizin, who traveled with Barclay the entire retreat from Vilna to Tarutino, spoke of him like this: “A commander with the most noble, independent character, heroically brave, complacent and extremely honest and selfless.” Partisan poet D.V. Davydov, among many praises for Barclay, left the following: “From the very beginning of his service, Barclay de Tolly attracted everyone’s attention with his amazing courage, imperturbable composure and excellent knowledge of the matter. These properties inspired the proverb in our soldiers: “Look at Barclay, and fear will not take you away.”

The Russian people will never forget their heroes, all those on whose shoulders the burden of the Patriotic War of 1812 was borne. One of the most worthy places in their first row undoubtedly belongs to Barclay, about whom Pushkin said so soulfully, with Shakespearean force:

Oh people! A pitiful race, worthy of tears and laughter!
Priests of the moment, fans of success!
How often does a person pass by you
Over whom the blind and violent age curses,
But whose high face is in the coming generation
The poet will be delighted and touched!

The “coming generation” finally fully rewarded Barclay for his soldier’s loyalty and endless patience, for his great feat for the glory of Russia.

There is still debate about the exact place and time of birth of Michael Barclay de Tolly. This is due to the lack of sources covering the very first period of the life of the outstanding commander.

Origin

According to the official biography, which appears in most textbooks and reference books, Mikhail Bogdanovich was born on December 16, 1761. This happened in the small Lithuanian estate of Pamushise. This territory belonged to the Duchy of Courland, which was vassal to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1795, this region of Lithuania, together with the estate, became part of Russia, according to the third partition of Poland.

But long before this, the father took the child to be raised with relatives whose nationality can be interpreted differently; he had Norman-German roots. His ancestors moved to Riga from Germany. Mikhail’s grandfather was even the burgomaster of this city. The father of the future commander served in the Russian army and retired with the rank of lieutenant and received noble status. In the family the boy's name was in the German manner - Michael-Anders.

Beginning of a military career

Barclay de Tolly, whose nationality did not prevent him from living in the Russian capital, received an excellent education and knew several European languages. From childhood he became interested in military theory. This is not surprising, because the child was raised in the house of his uncle, a colonel of the Novotroitsk cuirassier regiment.

In 1776, the Pskov Carabinieri Regiment accepted new cadets into its ranks. Among their ranks was the young Barclay de Tolly. His brief biography says that the young man’s career advancement proceeded at a rapid pace. In the Finnish Jaeger Corps, the newly-minted captain became the adjutant of General Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg. This was a distant relative of Empress Catherine II.

In 1787, another war broke out with the Ottoman Empire, in which Barclay de Tolly took part. His brief biography included information about the assault on Ochakov, where the officer received real combat training. For his participation in it, M.B. Barclay de Tolly was awarded his first orders.

In 1789, the major took part in fierce battles with the Turks. At the same time, the Prince of Anhalt-Bernuberg, together with his adjutant, was transferred to the Finnish army. She was already fighting with all her might against the Swedes (the war of 1788-1790). In one of the assaults, Victor Amadeus was mortally wounded, after which M. B. Barclay de Tolly was transferred to the capital.

Then, in 1791, the officer married his cousin Elena. There were several children in their family, but only one son did not die in infancy (Ernst).

Service under Alexander I

Barclay de Tolly, whose brief biography tells of numerous moves, continued to faithfully serve the Russian army. In the 90s of the 18th century, he participated in the suppression of Polish uprisings led by Kosciuszko. In the end he became a major general.

At this time the Napoleonic Wars began. The young emperor entered into yet another campaign. The 1805 campaign found Mikhail Bogdanovich in the army of General Leontius Bennigsen. This formation did not have time to come to the rescue of Kutuzov’s main units near Austerlitz. Therefore, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly returned to Russia without seeing the crushing defeat of the Allied army.

Failure did not break Alexander's desire to defeat Napoleon. Literally a year later, the War of the Fourth Coalition began, when Prussia attacked France, and Berlin eventually fell. Russian units went to the rescue of the Germans.

In February 1807, Barclay de Tolly took part in the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau. He, together with Bagration, led the rearguard of the Russian army, which was hit by the corps of Soult and Murat. Mikhail Bogdanovich was wounded in the right leg, after which he went to Memel for treatment.

Here in April of the same year he met with Alexander I, who at that time was trying to diplomatically soften the defeat from Napoleon. The officer first suggested that the emperor use scorched earth tactics. Under her, the enemy was cut off from his own rear with provisions and resources. At the same time, the enemy had to operate in a territory plundered and devoid of infrastructure. As it turned out in the future, it was precisely this tactic that gave results in the Patriotic War of 1812.

Finnish War

Russia divided Europe with France into zones of influence. This allowed Alexander to send an army to Finland to take it from Sweden. Barclay de Tolly, whose short biography already included many campaigns, was sent to Cupio. His corps took this city and held an important point despite several enemy assaults.

After this, the officer with his Vas corps walked across the ice of the Kvarken Strait and took the defenseless Swedish Umeå. This confirmed the final victory of Russia.

Thanks to his successes, Barclay de Tolly first became the Governor-General of Finland, and then the Minister of War. His rapid rise did not please the envious people, who saw his opponent as nothing more than an upstart. Moreover, Mikhail had German roots, which did not benefit him in the future.

Patriotic War of 1812

When Napoleon attacked Russia in 1812, Mikhail Bogdanovich commanded the First Western Army. He had to retreat in order to lead the enemy deep into the country, where he would be weakened and cut off from his homeland. In Smolensk, he united with the army of Bagration, who soon began to accuse Barclay de Tolly of his inability to lead the army.

As a result, overall command was transferred to Mikhail Kutuzov. In the Battle of Borodino, the officer led the right wing of the army. When the fate of the capital was being decided, Barclay de Tolly was among those who voted to leave Moscow.

When a turning point occurred and the Russian army launched a counter-offensive, the commander received leave, including due to the fact that in the Winter Palace many of his colleagues undeservedly scolded the “German”.

Last years

After World War II, Barclay de Tolly took part in the Foreign Campaign. He attended many battles, including the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig. For his success and faithful service he became a count and field marshal.

In 1818, the hero of our story asked for leave to go to German mineral waters in order to receive treatment. However, he never managed to reach his goal and died on the way on May 14 (26). The field marshal was buried with full honors, and his ashes were interred on the family estate in the Baltic states. The first monument to Barclay de Tolly appeared already in 1823. At the expense of his widow, a mausoleum was erected, which was plundered during the Second World War.

Biography

Origin

The father of the future commander, Weingold Gotthard Barclay de Tolly (German). Weinhold Gottard Barclay de Tolly , 1734-1781; Russian sources also indicate his adopted Slavic name Bogdan), retired as a lieutenant in the Russian army, receiving the rank of Russian nobleman. The mother of the future commander Margaret Elisabeth von Smitten (German) Margaretha Elisabeth von Smitten , 1733-1771) was the daughter of a local priest; according to other sources, she came from a family of Livland landowners. Mikhail Bogdanovich himself in family chronicles is called in German Michael Andreas (German. Michael Andreas). M. B. Barclay's wife is Agnetha Helena, born. von Smitten (1770-1828).

The place and year of birth of Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly until recently were considered reliably established. Early and recognized sources indicate that he was born on December 16 () of the year in the Pamūšis estate (lit. Pamūšis, now the village of Pamūšis in the Siauliai district of Lithuania), located in that part of the Zemgale region, which at that time was part of the vassal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of Courland duchy annexed to the Russian Empire after the third partition of Poland (). Modern Russian researchers V.M. Bezotosny and A.M. Gorshman made an attempt to substantiate the earlier year of birth -. Mikhail Bogdanovich himself wrote that he was born in Riga. The publication “Rigasche Biographien nebst einigen Familien-Nachrichten” (Riga, 1881) reports that he was born in 1761 on the estate of Lude Groshof (German. Luhde-Großhoff) near Valka (German) Walk, a city divided between Latvia and Estonia (the Estonian part of the city is called Valga)). Barclay's family moved to the Pamushis estate; it is this estate that many authors indicate as the birthplace of the future field marshal.

In military service

He began active service in the ranks of the Pskov Carabinieri Regiment in , was promoted to cornet, and only eight years later - to the next officer rank - lieutenant. Barclay's humble origins affected his career advancement; it took him more than twenty years to reach the rank of colonel. In the city he was transferred to the Finnish Jaeger Corps.

In the same letter, Barclay admitted the difficult moral situation around him. He did not have a good relationship with Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, a man of a completely different character and behavior. After the reorganization of the army by Kutuzov, General Barclay found himself in an ambiguous position. While formally maintaining his post, he was actually removed from command and control of the troops. At the end of September, having received leave, he went to Kaluga, then through St. Petersburg in late autumn he arrived at his village in Livonia.

Barclay wrote a long letter to Tsar Alexander I, in which he tried to outline his vision of the war and the reasons for the retreat of the Russian armies. In response, he received a friendly letter from the Russian Emperor, in which Alexander recognized the correctness of Barclay’s actions as commander of the 1st Army.

All Russian historians recognize that the fundamental strategic line outlined by Barclay at the initial stage of the Patriotic War was not changed by Kutuzov, and continuity of command was preserved.

After World War II

Barclay successfully led troops in the battles of Thorn, Kulm, Leipzig, and Paris. For his services, he was elevated to the rank of count; after the capture of Paris, he received a field marshal's baton on March 18 () 1814. Barclay long sought lower officer ranks, but in just 7 years he made a rapid path from major general to field marshal.

Barclay de Tolly's long-unseen service, hidden in obscurity, subordinated him to the order of gradual elevation, constrained hopes, humbled ambition. Not belonging to the ranks of extraordinary people due to the superiority of his talents, he valued his good abilities too modestly and therefore did not have confidence in himself that could open up paths independent of ordinary order...
Awkward at court, he did not win over people close to the sovereign; With his coldness of treatment he did not gain the affection of his equals or the commitment of his subordinates...
Before his elevation to the ranks, Barclay de Tolly had a very limited, or rather meager, fortune; he had to subdue desires and constrain needs. Such a state, of course, does not hinder the aspirations of a noble soul, does not extinguish the mind’s lofty talents; but poverty, however, provides ways to show them in the most decent form... Family life did not fill his entire time of solitude: his wife is not young, does not have charms that can hold him in a certain charm for a long time, conquering all other feelings. Children are infancy, a military man does not have a household! He used his free time for useful activities and enriched himself with knowledge. By nature he is temperate in all respects, by nature he is unpretentious, and by habit he tolerates shortcomings without complaining. An educated, positive mind, patient in his work, caring about the work entrusted to him; unsteady in intentions, timid in responsibility; indifferent in danger, inaccessible to fear. The properties of the soul are kind, not alien to condescension; he is attentive to the works of others, but more so of people close to him... He is careful in dealing with his subordinates, does not allow them to be treated freely and unconstrained, taking it for non-observance of rank. Fearful of the sovereign, lacking the gift of explaining himself. He is afraid of losing his favors, having recently used them, having used them beyond expectation.
In a word, Barclay de Tolly has shortcomings that are inseparable from most people, but he also has virtues and abilities that currently adorn very few of our most famous generals.

Although during the retreat at the initial stage of the Patriotic War some contemporaries almost considered Barclay as a traitor, later they appreciated his merits. The great A.S. Pushkin honored him with the poem “Commander”, and also left the following lines in the unwritten 10th chapter of “Eugene Onegin”:

Thunderstorm of the twelfth year
It has arrived - who helped us here?
The frenzy of the people
Barclay, winter or Russian god?

In St. Petersburg, on Nevsky Prospekt, in the park in front of the Kazan Cathedral, there are monuments to Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly. Both monuments by sculptor B.I. Orlovsky were inaugurated on December 25, the day of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the expulsion of the French from Russia.

Having visited the sculptor’s workshop in March, Pushkin saw the sculptures of both commanders and once again expressed his views on their role in the Patriotic War with an expressive line of the poem “To the Artist”:

Here is the initiator Barclay, and here the accomplisher Kutuzov.

In the 4th issue of his Sovremennik (November), Pushkin, having been criticized for the poem “Commander,” published the article “Explanation”:

The glory of Kutuzov is inextricably linked with the glory of Russia, with the memory of the greatest event in modern history. His title: Savior of Russia; his monument: St. Helen's Rock! His name is not only sacred to us, but shouldn’t we also rejoice, we Russians, that it sounds with a Russian sound?

And could Barclay de Tolly complete the work he began? Could he stop and propose a battle at the Borodin mounds? Could he, after a terrible battle, where there was an unequal dispute, give Moscow to Napoleon and stand inactive on the Tarutino plains? No! (Not to mention the superiority of the military genius). Kutuzov alone could propose the Battle of Borodino; only Kutuzov could give Moscow to the enemy, only Kutuzov could remain in this wise, active inaction, putting Napoleon to sleep in the conflagration of Moscow, and waiting for the fatal moment: for Kutuzov alone was vested with the people's power of attorney, which he so miraculously justified!

Should we really be ungrateful to the merits of Barclay de Tolly, because Kutuzov is great?

Contemporary, literary magazine A.S. Pushkin. 1836-1837. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1988. - P. 308.

Awards

• Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (09/07/1813);
• Barclay de Tolly was one of the 4 full Knights of St. George in the entire history of the order. Along with him in those years, only M.I. Kutuzov was a full cavalier.
  • Order of St. George 1st class. (08/19/1813, No. 11) - “For the defeat of the French in the Battle of Kulm on August 18, 1813”;
  • Order of St. George 2nd class. bol.kr. (21.10.1812, No. 44) - “For participation in the battle of Borodino on August 26, 1812”;
  • Order of St. George, 3rd class. (01/08/1807, No. 139) - “In reward for the excellent courage and courage shown in the battle against the French troops on December 14 at Pultusk, where, commanding the vanguard ahead of the right flank, with special skill and prudence he held the enemy during the entire battle and knocked over onago";
  • Order of St. George, 4th class. (09.16.1794, No. 547) - “For excellent courage shown against the Polish rebels during the capture of the fortifications and the mountains themselves. Vilna";
• Gold sword with diamonds and laurels with the inscription "for January 20, 1814" (1814);
• Order of St. Vladimir 1st class. (09/15/1811), 2nd Art. (03/07/1807), 4th Art. (07.12.1788);
• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (09.09.1809) with diamonds (09.05.1813);
• Order of St. Anne 1st class. (03/07/1807);
• Golden Cross for the capture of Ochakov (12/07/1788);
• Golden Cross for Preussisch-Eyslau (1807);
• Prussian Order of the Red Eagle (1807);
• Prussian Order of the Black Eagle (1813);
• Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa Commander (1813);
• Swedish Military Order of the Sword 1st class. (1814);
• French orders of St. Louis (1816) and Legion of Honor 1st class. (1815);
• Honorary Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Bath of Great Britain (1815); English sword with diamonds (1816);
• Dutch Military Order of William 1st class. (1815);
• Saxon Military Order of St. Henry 1st class. (1815)

Memory of Barclay de Tolly

• Nesvizh 4th Grenadier Regiment (at that time 2nd, then 1st Grenadier Chasseurs, Grenadier Carabineer Regiment) On February 14, the carabinery regiment of General Field Marshal Prince Barclay de Tolly was named. S - Nesvizh 4th Grenadier General Field Marshal Prince Barclay de Tolly Regiment. A bust of Barclay de Tolly is installed in the hall of fame (Walhall) in Germany.
• In 1962, Filskoe Highway in Moscow (became part of the city in 1960 along with the village of Fili) was renamed Barclay Street.
• In Veliky Novgorod, on the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia”, among the 129 figures of the most outstanding personalities in Russian history (as of 1862), there is the figure of M. B. Barclay de Tolly.
• In Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad region (formerly Insterburg), an equestrian statue of the commander was installed on the central square of the city in 2007, and one of the streets was named after him.

Monument in St. Petersburg

Notes

Sources and links

• Soviet military encyclopedia. M., 1978.
• Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich, Image of military actions of 1812
• Bantysh-Kamensky, D.N. 41st Field Marshal Prince Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly // Biographies of Russian generalissimos and field marshals. In 4 parts. Reprint reproduction of the 1840 edition. - M.: Culture, 1991.
• Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly, biography from the 3rd edition of the album “Military Gallery of the Winter Palace” (Leningrad, “Iskusstvo”, 1981)
• Barclay de Tolly, encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus F.A. and Efron I.A.
• Dictionary of Russian generals who took part in the fighting against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812-1815. // Russian archive: Sat. - M.: studio "TRITE" N. Mikhalkov, 1996. - T. VII. - pp. 308-309.
• Glinka V.M. , Pomarnatsky A.V. Barclay de Tolly, Mikhail Bogdanovich // Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. - 3rd ed. - L.: Art, 1981. - P. 73-76.
• Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly [The largest selection on the topic of 100 greats]

Governors-General of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Sprengporten Barclay de Tolly Steingel Armfelt Steingel Zakrevsky Menshikov von Berg Rokasovsky Adlerberg Heyden Bobrikov Obolensky Gerard Beckman Zane Stakhovich Nekrasov

Russian army in 1812
Commander-in-Chief
1st Western Army	M.B. Barclay de Tolly 1st Inf. building: P.H. Wittgenstein · 2nd Inf. building: K.F. Baggovut, Eugene of Württemberg · 3rd infantry. building: N.A. Tuchkov, P.A. Stroganov, P.P. Konovnitsyn · 4th Inf. building: P.A. Shuvalov, A.I. Osterman-Tolstoy · 5th Guards. infantry building: Konstantin Pavlovich, N.I. Lavrov · 6th Inf. body: D.S. Dokhturov · 1st Cav. body: F.P. Uvarov · 2nd Cavalry. building: F.K. Korf · 3rd Cav. body: P.P. Palen · Cossack Corps: M.I. Platov
2nd Western Army	7th Inf. building: N.N. Raevsky · 8th infantry. building: N.M. Borozdin · 4th Cav. body: K.K. Sievers
3rd Western Army	Kamensky Corps: S.M. Kamensky · Markov Corps: E.I. Markov · Saken Corps: F.V. Osten-Sacken · Cav. Lambert Corps: K.O. Lambert
Danube Army	1st Corps: A.F. Lanzheron · 2nd Corps: P.K. Essen · 3rd Corps: A.L. Voinov · 4th Corps: A.P. Zass

President of the Military Collegium: A. D. Menshikov | A. I. Repnin | M. M. Golitsyn | V. V. Dolgorukov | B. H. Minich | N. Yu. Trubetskoy | Z. G. Chernyshev | G. A. Potemkin | N. I. Saltykov |
Minister of War: S. K. Vyazmitinov | A. A. Arakcheev | M. B. Barclay de Tolly| A. I. Gorchakov | P. P. Konovnitsyn | P. I. Meller-Zakomelsky | A. I. Tatishchev | A. I. Chernyshev | V. A. Dolgorukov | N. O. Sukhozanet | D. A. Milyutin | P. S. Vannovsky | A. N. Kuropatkin | V.V. Sakharov | A. F. Roediger | V. A. Sukhomlinov | A. A. Polivanov | D. S. Shuvaev | M. A. Belyaev |
Minister of War and Navy (Provisional Government): A. I. Guchkov | A. F. Kerensky | A. I. Verkhovsky |
Minister of War and Navy (Provisional All-Russian Government): A. V. Kolchak
Committee of People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs of the RSFSR: P. E. Dybenko | V. A. Antonov | N.V. Krylenko | People's Commissar of Military Marines of the RSFSR: N. I. Podvoisky |
People's Commissar of Military Affairs/People's Commissar of Defense/Minister of Defense of the USSR: L. D. Trotsky | M. V. Frunze | K. E. Voroshilov | S.K. Timoshenko | J.V. Stalin | N. A. Bulganin | A. M. Vasilevsky | G. K. Zhukov | R. Ya. Malinovsky | A. A. Grechko | D. F. Ustinov | S. L. Sokolov | D. T. Yazov | M. A. Moiseev | E. I. Shaposhnikov |
Russian Defense Minister: K. I. Kobets | B. N. Yeltsin | P. S. Grachev |