"Everything is simple in war, but the simplest is extremely difficult."
Karl Clausewitz
Mikhail Illarionovich was born on September 16, 1745 in St. Petersburg in a noble family. His father's name was Illarion Matveyevich, and he was a comprehensively educated person, a famous military engineer, according to whose projects the construction of fortresses, the strengthening of cities and state borders was carried out. Historians know very little about the boy's mother - she belonged to the Beklemishev family and died when Mikhail was still an infant. Illarion Matveyevich was on business trips all the time, and the grandmother and cousin of his father, Ivan Golenishchev-Kutuzov, took care of the child. The brave admiral, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the head of the Naval Cadet Corps, Ivan Loginovich was not only a prominent specialist in naval and military affairs, but also an expert in fiction. Mikhail also became closely acquainted with his extensive library, having mastered German and French perfectly from early childhood.
Portrait of M. I. Kutuzov by R. M. Volkov
Having received a good education at home, an inquisitive boy, distinguished by a strong physique, in 1759 he was sent to the United Engineering and Artillery School of the Nobility. Prominent teachers and educators worked at the educational institution, in addition, students were taken to the Academy of Sciences to listen to the lectures of Mikhail Lomonosov. Kutuzov finished his studies ahead of schedule at the beginning of 1761 and, having received the rank of an engineer-ensign, for some time remained at school as a teacher of mathematics. In March 1762 young Kutuzov was transferred to the post of adjutant of the Revel governor. And in August of the same year, he received the rank of captain and was sent as a company commander to the Astrakhan infantry regiment stationed near St. Petersburg.
Apparently, the young officer passionately wanted to prove himself in business - in the spring of 1764 he went to Poland as a volunteer and took part in clashes between Russian troops and local rebels who opposed the Russian protege on the Polish throne Stanislav Poniatowski. Despite the efforts of his father, who provided his son with a fast career, already in those years Kutuzov stood out for his unusually deep knowledge, both in military affairs and in matters of history, politics and philosophy. A broad outlook and extraordinary erudition allowed Mikhail Illarionovich to become a member of the Legislative Commission in 1767, convened by decree of Catherine II to develop a draft of the most important laws of the Russian state. The enterprise was carried out on a large scale - 573 deputies from state peasants, wealthy townspeople, nobles and officials were included in the commission, and 22 officers were involved in writing matters, among whom was Kutuzov. After the completion of these works, the young officer returned to the army and in 1769 again took part in the struggle against the Polish confederates.
Kutuzov received the real baptism of fire during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. At the beginning of 1770, he was sent to the first army of Rumyantsev operating in Moldova, and during a major battle with the Turks at Ryaba Mogila in June of the same year, he showed rare courage, noted by the leadership. In July 1770, developing the offensive, the Russians inflicted two more defeats on the enemy - in the battles of Cahul and Larga. In both operations, Kutuzov was in the very center - he led the grenadier battalion in the attack, pursued the fleeing enemy. And soon he became the "chief quartermaster of the prime major rank" (chief of staff of the corps). Organization of marches, drawing up dispositions, reconnaissance on the ground, reconnaissance - Mikhail Illarionovich coped with all the duties brilliantly, and for courage in the battle of Popeshty he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. However, not everything went smoothly with Kutuzov. His harsh criticism of the actions of his senior in rank was eventually noticed by Rumyantsev, and the prime minister, inexperienced in intrigues, was sent in 1772 to Dolgorukov's Crimean army. There he took part in the siege of Kinburn, fought in the south of the Crimea, eliminated the Turkish landing force, which had fortified itself near the village of Shumy. It was there that, during the attack, Kutuzov was seriously wounded - a bullet pierced his left temple and left near his right eye. Such an injury is almost certain death, but the brave warrior, fortunately, survived and was awarded the Order of St. George of the fourth degree.
He was given leave, and Kutuzov went on a long trip abroad, visiting Germany, England and Austria. During the trip, he read a lot, studied the structure of the Western European armies, met with famous military leaders, in particular the King of Prussia Frederick and the Austrian theoretician Lassi. In 1777, Kutuzov, who had returned from abroad, was promoted to colonel and placed at the head of the Lugansk pikiner regiment. And in May 1778, Mikhail Illarionovich married Ekaterina Bibikova, the daughter of a famous lieutenant general. Subsequently, they had six children - one boy and five girls. The spouses lived peacefully, and Ekaterina Ilyinichna often accompanied her husband on military campaigns. Both were passionate theatergoers and visited almost all the temples of art in Russia.
Over the next decade, Kutuzov slowly advanced in service - in 1782 he became a brigadier, and in 1783 the Crimea was transferred to the post of commander of the Mariupol light-horse regiment. At the end of 1784, Mikhail Illarionovich, after successfully suppressing the uprising in the Crimea, was awarded the rank of major general, and in 1785 he became the head of the Bug Jaeger Corps. The commander prepared his huntsmen very carefully, paying special attention to actions in loose formation and shooting. Like Suvorov, he did not forget to take care of the life of the soldiers, and Kutuzov's authority in the troops was high. It is curious that in addition to this, Mikhail Illarionovich was known as an unusually brave and dashing rider.
In 1787, Turkey demanded that the Russian Empire revise the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace treaty, and, having received a refusal, began hostilities. At the very beginning of the war, Kutuzov's jaeger corps was part of the Yekaterinoslav army of Potemkin and had the main task of protecting the southwestern borders of Russia along the Bug River. In 1788, Mikhail Illarionovich's units were transferred to the Kherson-Kinburn region under the command of Alexander Suvorov. Service under the command of this illustrious commander became an invaluable experience for Kutuzov. The main events unfolded around Ochakov. In August, Mikhail Illarionovich, repelling the attack of the Turkish cavalry, received a new wound - a bullet, almost repeating the previous "route", passed right through behind both eyes from temple to temple, which caused his right eye to “squint somewhat”. Austrian general de Lin wrote: “Just now Kutuzov was shot in the head. Today or tomorrow he will die. " However, Mikhail Illarionovich again escaped death. The surgeon who treated him commented on it this way: "We must believe that fate assigns a person to something great, because after two wounds, according to all the rules of medical science, fatal, he remained alive." Already four months after his recovery, the brave general took part in the capture of Ochakov.
After this glorious victory, Kutuzov was entrusted with troops between the Dniester and the Bug. He took part in the battle at Kaushany, contributed to the capture of the Khadzhibey fortress (located on the site of Odessa), stormed Bendery and Akkerman. In April 1790, Mikhail Illarionovich received a new task - to keep the border along the Black Sea coast. Having set up posts, organized constant reconnaissance and flying mail, he timely learned about the appearance of the Turkish fleet. Especially brightly, the abilities of the commander were revealed during the capture of Ishmael. Kutuzov took part in the development of the assault, in the training and logistics of the troops. His troops were to strike at the Kiliya Gate and capture the New Fortress - one of the most powerful strongholds. The general personally led the soldiers to the assault - twice Russian soldiers were covered and only the third attack, with the support of the rangers and grenadiers in the reserve, overturned the enemy. After the capture of the fortress, Suvorov reported: "General Kutuzov walked on my left wing, but he was with his right hand." Mikhail Illarionovich, awarded the Order of St. George of the third degree and promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, was appointed commandant of Izmail.
In October 1791, Suvorov set out to strengthen the Russian-Finnish border, and General-in-Chief Repnin, who was appointed to command the combined army, relied heavily on Kutuzov. In the summer of 1791, the commandant of Izmail, commanding a separate corps, split the 22,000-strong army of Ahmed Pasha at Babadag, and in the battle at Machin (during which the 80,000th army of Yusuf Pasha was destroyed) successfully commanded the left wing of the Russian army. Repnin wrote to the Empress: "General Kutuzov's quick wit and quickness surpass any praise." For this battle, Mikhail Illarionovich was awarded the Order of St. George of the second degree. Soon Turkey was forced to conclude the Yasi Peace, according to which the Northern Black Sea region passed to Russia. Kutuzov, meanwhile, went to a new war - to Poland. In May 1791, the Polish Sejm approved a constitution, which the Russian Empire did not want to recognize. Stanislav Poniatovsky abdicated the throne and left for St. Petersburg, and Russian troops in 1792 moved against the rebels. Mikhail Illarionovich successfully led one of the corps for six months, after which he was suddenly summoned to the northern capital of Russia.
Arriving at the place, Kutuzov learned about the empress's desire to send him to Turkey as the Russian ambassador. The appointment of a combat general to this responsible and difficult area for most representatives of high society came as a big surprise, but Mikhail Illarionovich brilliantly proved that Catherine II was not mistaken in it. Heading to Constantinople, he deliberately took his time, studying Turkish life and history on the way, collecting information about the peoples of the Port. The mission's goals were not easy - it was required to outplay sophisticated Western diplomats who were trying to push the Turks into another war with Russia, and to collect as much information as possible about the Greek and Slavic subjects of Turkey. Upon arrival, Mikhail Illarionovich literally captured the Turkish nobility - in the terrible enemy commander they found an always smiling, kind and courteous person. Russian general Sergei Maevsky said: “Kutuzov did not speak, but played with his tongue. Truly Rossini or Mozart, captivating the ear with a conversational bow. " During his stay in the Turkish capital (from the fall of 1793 to the spring of 1794), Kutuzov completed all the tasks set - the French ambassador was asked to leave Turkey, the Russian ships were given the opportunity to freely enter the Mediterranean Sea, the Moldovan ruler, who decided to focus on the French, lost his throne. Mikhail Illarionovich's new position was to his liking, he wrote: "No matter how roguish the diplomatic career is, however, it is not as tricky as the military one."
Returning to his homeland, Kutuzov was generously awarded by the empress, who granted him possession of over two thousand serfs. Despite the brilliant prospects opened up in the diplomatic field, the nearly fifty-year-old general was obviously tired of the nomadic life. Having made the decision to settle in the capital, he, with the assistance of Platon Zubov, knocked out the position of director of the Land Cadet Corps for himself, decisively changing the entire educational process of the institution. Discipline improved in the corps, and the focus in the training of future officers began to be paid to field tactical exercises and practical skills in using weapons. Kutuzov himself lectured on military history and tactics.
In 1796, the empress died, and Paul I ascended the throne. Unlike Alexander Suvorov, Kutuzov got along calmly with the new emperor, although he did not welcome the Prussian innovations in the army. In December 1797, the eccentric emperor remembered Kutuzov's diplomatic abilities and sent him to the King of Prussia, Frederick William III. He was entrusted with a task no less difficult than in Constantinople - to create conditions for Prussia to join the anti-French coalition. The ambassador successfully coped with the assignment, and, filled with confidence in Mikhail Illarionovich, Paul I granted him the rank of infantry general, appointing him commander of all troops in Finland. After completing an audit and obtaining subsidies from the state, Kutuzov energetically began to strengthen the Russian-Swedish border. The measures taken impressed the tsar, and in October 1799 the general took the post of Lithuanian military governor, beginning to prepare troops for war, first with the French, and then - after the conclusion of a military alliance with Bonaparte - with the British. In the district of Mikhail Illarionovich, exemplary order reigned, and he himself devoted a lot of time to the issues of staffing units with recruits, supplying troops with ammunition, ammunition, weapons and food. At the same time, Kutuzov was also responsible for the political state in the region.
In March 1801, Pavel Petrovich was killed, and his son Alexander in the first year of his reign brought Mikhail Illarionovich closer to him - in June 1801, the general was appointed military governor of St. Petersburg. However, in August 1802, the new emperor suddenly lost interest in the commander. Historians cannot explain the exact reasons for this, but Kutuzov was "dismissed from all posts" and sent into exile in his Goroshki estate (in the Volyn province), where he lived for three years.
In 1803, hostilities began again between England and France. The new anti-French coalition includes: Russia, Austria and Sweden. The Austrians fielded three armies, the second of which (about eighty thousand people under the leadership of Archduke Ferdinand, and in fact General Mack) went to the area of the Ulm fortress, where it was supposed to wait for the Russians. By that time, Russia had assembled two armies. General Buxgewden was placed at the head of the first - Volynskaya, and the disgraced Kutuzov was summoned to command the second - Podolskaya. Mikhail Illarionovich, who was formally considered the commander-in-chief, received an already developed plan and was placed under the command not only of the two emperors, but also of the Austrian General Staff. By the way, his own plan of action, which proposed to move military operations to the French lands as soon as possible, was rejected, and Kutuzov moved along the drawn route to the Inn River.
Napoleon, who was preparing a huge army in Boulogne to cross the English Channel, seeing the inconsistency of the actions of the opponents in the east, abruptly changed his plans and threw the entire Boulogne group to meet the troops of Archduke Ferdinand. Thus, the armies of Kutuzov and Napoleon staged a correspondence competition - who will get to Ulm first. But the forces of the French were separated from the target by four hundred kilometers less. The two-month march, by itself in organization and speed, which became a confirmation of Kutuzov's high military leadership talent, was doomed to failure. The Russians had only a few transitions before uniting with the Austrians, when the French, having made a roundabout maneuver, cut off the path of retreat for Mack's armies and completely defeated the Austrians in the battle of Ulm. The Allied army ceased to exist, and Kutuzov, who reached Braunau, found himself in an extremely difficult situation. His forces were more than twice inferior to the enemy, the Alps were on the left, the Danube on the right, and behind no reserves as far as Vienna.
Now both emperors have given Mikhail Illarionovich freedom of action. And he decided to retreat to join forces with Buxgewden. This is how the amazing throw of the Russians Braunau-Olmutz began, during which Kutuzov showed all his cunning, resourcefulness and ability not to lose sight of a single trifle. The departure of Russian troops from Napoleon in 1805 is rightfully considered an exemplary retreat in military history, an excellent strategic march. It lasted almost a month. During this time, Russian soldiers traveled more than four hundred kilometers, conducting almost continuous rearguard battles with superior enemy forces. If in Braunau Napoleon could put up a 150 thousandth army, then he had about seventy thousand left to Olmutz. The rest remained to guard the occupied territories or were lost in the battles. At the same time, the Russians had up to eighty thousand people here. However, Kutuzov believed that it was too early to converge on the field with the French army of the latest model, headed by a brilliant commander. The general's proposal was to await the approach of the Russian corps under the command of Bennigsen and Essen, as well as the accession of Prussia to the coalition.
A different opinion was held by the emperors, who, unfortunately for Mikhail Illarionovich, arrived in Olmutz and again actually took command. Kutuzov, no longer trying to insist on the continuation of the retreat, to some extent withdrew from participation in further actions. Napoleon, misleading the enemy, allowed the Allied vanguard to destroy one of his troops and even left the heights dominating the terrain. He could not deceive Kutuzov, but he could not do anything - Alexander I was sure that in the general battle he was finally gaining military laurels. Soon a grandiose battle took place near the village of Austerlitz. Mikhail Illarionovich commanded the fourth column and, under pressure from the tsar, was forced to bring it into battle in an extremely untimely manner. The outcome of the battle was predetermined before it began, and the Russian commander's conviction of this, in all likelihood, did not add confidence to him during the battle. The allies were completely defeated, and the third anti-French coalition ceased to exist. Kutuzov himself, wounded in the cheek, almost ended up in captivity. Although the emperor awarded the commander with the Order of St. Vladimir, he could not forgive him for the fact that the commander-in-chief did not insist on his own and did not convince him. When, in one conversation many years later, someone cautiously remarked to the tsar that Mikhail Illarionovich was trying to persuade him not to join the battle, Alexander sharply replied: "So, he did not persuade him well!"
Returning to Russia, Kutuzov was appointed the Kiev military governor - a position tantamount to honorary exile. Relatives tried to persuade him to give up humiliation and resign, but Mikhail Illarionovich wanted to continue helping his homeland. And such a case soon presented itself - in 1806 Turkey, having violated the Yassy Peace, again unleashed a war with Russia. It was obvious even to the emperor that no one knew better about Turkish affairs than Kutuzov, and in the spring of 1808 he was entrusted with the main corps of the Moldavian army. However, soon after his arrival, Mikhail Illarionovich had a strong quarrel with the commander Alexander Prozorovsky, who eventually secured his transfer to the post of military governor of Lithuania.
The return of the sixty-five-year-old commander to Moldova took place only in the spring of 1811. By this time, the imminent end of the war with the Turks had become absolutely necessary - a new war with Napoleon was imminent. The number of Russian troops scattered along the Danube for more than a thousand kilometers did not exceed 45 thousand people. Meanwhile, the Turks became more active - the size of their army was brought to eighty thousand people, concentrated against the center of the Russians. Having assumed command, Mikhail Illarionovich began to implement his plan of action, which consisted in gathering the army on the northern bank of the Danube into one fist, bleeding the enemy in small skirmishes, and then finally crushing it with all his might. It is curious that Kutuzov carried out all the preparatory measures in an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy, encouraged the spread of rumors about the vulnerability of the Russian army, struck up friendly correspondence with Akhmet Pasha, and even began negotiations for peace. After the Turks realized that the negotiations were only delaying time, they went on the offensive. The battle at the Ruschuk fortress, despite the fourfold numerical superiority of the enemy, ended in a complete victory for the Russians. Least of all in his life, Kutuzov liked to take risks, and, abandoning the pursuit of the still numerically superior enemy, unexpectedly for everyone he gave the order to blow up the fortress and withdraw the army to the northern bank of the Danube. The commander was accused of indecision and even cowardice, but the commander knew perfectly well what he was doing. In early September, a 36,000-strong Turkish army crossed the river, setting up a camp near the town of Slobodzeya. The Russians did not interfere with the crossing, but as soon as it ended, the Turks suddenly found themselves in a blockade, and all attempts to expand the bridgehead were in vain. Soon the ships of the Danube flotilla approached, and the enemy group was completely surrounded. The famine forced the remnants of the Turkish forces to surrender. Having lost the army, Turkey wanted peace, and Mikhail Illarionovich took on the role of a diplomat. In May 1812 - a month before the start of World War II - a peace treaty was concluded in the city of Bucharest, according to which the Turks could not take the side of France. When Napoleon found out about this, he, in the words of Academician Tarle, "completely exhausted the reserve of curses." Even Alexander I was forced to recognize the invaluable service that Mikhail Illarionovich rendered his country - Kutuzov was granted the title of count.
In the summer of 1812, a huge French army marched to the borders of Russia. In the first stage of the war, the main task of the Russians was to combine the two armies commanded by Barclay de Tolly and Bagration. By giving rearguard battles and skillfully maneuvering, the Russian generals were able to meet at Smolensk in early August. Despite the fact that a fierce battle broke out in the city, the general battle never took place. Barclay de Tolly gave the order to retreat east, and Napoleon followed him. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the actions of the commander-in-chief grew in the Russian army. Both the court and most of the generals found him overly cautious, there were even rumors of treason, especially given the foreign origin of Barclay de Tolly. As a result, it was decided to change the commander. A special committee advised the emperor to appoint a sixty-seven-year-old infantry general Kutuzov at the head of the army. Alexander I, not wishing to resist, reluctantly signed the decree.
Mikhail Illarionovich arrived at the location of the Russian army in the village of Tsarevo-Zaymishche in mid-August. Before leaving, Kutuzov's nephew asked him: "Do you really hope to defeat Napoleon?" To this the commander replied: “I do not hope to destroy. I hope to cheat. " Absolutely everyone was convinced that Mikhail Illarionovich would stop retreating. He himself supported this legend, having traveled around upon the arrival of the troops and declared: "Well, how can you really retreat with such fellows!" However, very soon his first order came … to continue the retreat. Kutuzov, known for his caution, was generally of the same opinion that Barclay - Napoleon must be worn out, it is risky to engage in battle with him. Nevertheless, the retreat did not last long, the enemy did not lose sight of the main forces of the Russians. Konovnitsyn's rearguard did not stop repelling the attacks of the advancing French, and Mikhail Illarionovich still had to give a general battle.
The place for the battle was chosen near the village of Borodino. Russian troops numbered 120 thousand people, while Napoleon had 135 thousand. Kutuzov placed his headquarters in the deep rear, prudently giving Bagration and Barclay de Tolly complete freedom of action - they could use their forces at their own discretion, without asking the commander-in-chief, who retained only the right to dispose of reserves. Age took its toll, and Kutuzov, unlike Napoleon, who carefully familiarized himself with the place of the upcoming battle, was not able to do this - his obesity did not allow him to mount a horse, and he could not drive everywhere in a droshky.
The battle of Borodino began at 5:30 am on September 7 and lasted twelve hours. The positions changed hands so often that the gunners did not always have time to adapt and often fired at their own. The generals showed amazing courage, personally leading the soldiers into deadly attacks (Kutuzov lost 22 generals, Napoleon - 47). Late in the evening, the French withdrew from Kurgannaya Heights and occupied flushes to their original positions, but individual fights lasted all night. Early in the morning, Kutuzov gave the order to retreat, which the army carried out in perfect order. Shocked by her, seeing this, he said to Murat: "What kind of army is this, which after such a battle is leaving so exemplarily?" The total losses of the Russians amounted to over forty thousand people, the French - about sixty thousand. Later Bonaparte said: "Of all my battles, the most terrible is the one I gave near Moscow …".
Nevertheless, the Russians retreated, and on September 13, at the famous council in Fili, Kutuzov first expressed the idea that the ancient capital must be abandoned. The opinions of the military leaders were divided, but Mikhail Illarionovich put an end to the debate, saying: “With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not lost. As long as the army will exist, there remains the hope of ending the war happily …”. The news of this made a stunning impression both in Moscow itself and in the army. Encouraged by the success of the Battle of Borodino, the townspeople were not going to abandon all their property and flee into the unknown. Many military men also considered the order treasonous and refused to carry it out. Despite this, the Russian army passed through Moscow in mid-September and left along the Ryazan road. In the following days, the Russian soldiers performed probably the most brilliant maneuver in the entire Patriotic War. While the French were plundering Moscow, Kutuzov's "miracle heroes", having crossed the Moscow River at the Borovsk ferry, suddenly turned west. The commander-in-chief kept his plan in the strictest confidence, and the army performed most of the march at night - while moving, the soldiers observed the strictest discipline, no one had the right to leave. Rearguard Miloradovich, moving behind, disorientated the enemy, performing movements in false directions. For a long time, Napoleon's marshals informed the emperor that the Russian army of one hundred thousand people seemed to have evaporated. In the end, the Russian army camped near the village of Tarutino, south-west of Moscow, where Kutuzov announced: "And now not a step back!" This flanking maneuver, in fact, turned the tide of the war. Russian forces covered Tula and its arms factory, the rich south of the country and Kaluga, in which considerable military reserves were concentrated. The commander-in-chief established contacts with the partisan detachments and took control of their actions. Napoleon's troops found themselves in a ring formed by the partisans and the Russian army and could not, with the Russians in the rear, march on Petersburg, which was feared at the court of Alexander. It is curious that while in the Tarutinsky camp, Chief of Staff Bennigsen sent a denunciation to Alexander I that the seriously ill Kutuzov "shows little, sleeps a lot and does nothing." The letter ended up in the military department, and General Knorring imposed the following resolution on it: “This is not our business. Sleep, and let him sleep. Each hour of sleep of this old man inexorably brings us closer to victory."
The longer the French stayed in Moscow, the weaker their army became - discipline fell, food warehouses burned, looting flourished. It was absolutely impossible to spend the winter in the city, and Napoleon decided to leave the city. In early October, having finally blown up the Kremlin, Napoleon moved towards Kaluga. The plans of the French for a covert bypass of the left flank of the Russians were not crowned with success - Kutuzov received news from the scouts in time about the enemy's maneuvers and moved across the path. On October 12, a fierce battle unfolded near the small town of Maloyaroslavets, located on the right bank of the Luga, in which, however, the main forces of the opponents did not participate. Kutuzov, considering this battle decisive for the whole company, was at the forefront, personally wanting to see the intentions of the French. A contemporary wrote: "In none of the battles of that war, the prince did not remain so long under shots." As darkness fell, the battle began to subside. Kutuzov withdrew his forces south of the city and was ready to continue the battle, but Napoleon, for the first time in his life, decided to avoid a general battle and gave the order to retreat along the devastated Smolensk road.
On the way, the French were disturbed by partisans and Russian cavalry detachments. The main forces moved to the south parallel to the enemy, not giving a break and covering food areas. The hopes of the French emperor to find provisions in Smolensk were not realized, and his exhausted army moved further west. Now the enemy's retreat was like a flight. The Russians attacked the sprawling enemy columns, trying to impede their connection and cutting off their escape routes. So the corps of Beauharnais, Ney and Davout were defeated. The "Great Army" no longer existed, and Kutuzov could rightfully say that he was the first man to defeat Napoleon. According to the stories of his contemporaries, after the Battle of Krasnoye, Kutuzov read aloud to the troops the newly written fable by Ivan Krylov "The Wolf in the Kennel." After reading the answer of the hunter to the wolf: "You are gray, and I, friend, gray," the commander-in-chief took off his headdress and shook his head. At the end of 1812, the "All-Russian hunter" was awarded the Order of St. George of the first degree.
Napoleon was in a hurry to his homeland, where he was going to immediately take up the formation of a new army. Everyone, including Kutuzov, understood the need for the final destruction of the tyrant. However, Mikhail Illarionovich, mortally tired of the marching life, unlike the Russian emperor, believed that it was necessary first to strengthen the army, which had suffered enough during the counteroffensive. The wise commander did not believe either in the sincerity of the intentions of the British, or in the timely support of the Austrians, or in the significant help of the inhabitants of Prussia. However, Alexander was relentless, and, despite the protests of the commander-in-chief, gave the order to attack.
In mid-January 1813, the army under the leadership of Kutuzov crossed the Neman. One after another, Russian troops liberated the cities on the territory of Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw and the German principalities. Berlin was liberated at the end of February, and by mid-April, the main forces of Kutuzov stood behind the Elbe. However, Mikhail Illarionovich did not have to measure his strength with Napoleon. Already in March, the commander could hardly move, and his strength was running out. In early April 1813, heading for Dresden, the commander-in-chief caught a cold and was forced to stay in the town of Bunzlau. Having been ill for ten days, on April 28, Mikhail Illarionovich died. They say that shortly before his death, he had a conversation with Alexander I, who said: "Mikhailo Illarionovich, will you forgive me?" Kutuzov replied: "I will forgive, Russia will not forgive …". The body of the deceased commander was embalmed, transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral.
