The French, along with all the allies, were beaten by Kutuzov and his army in just one campaign. In the campaign of 1812, Kutuzov did with Napoleon what he was doing back in 1805, hoping to retreat to Bohemia to join the reinforcements of General Buxgewden, and already "there to collect the bones of the French."
The Russian commander-in-chief, no matter what they say now, showed himself not just equal to Bonaparte - this became clear after Borodino, but surpassed him in all respects as a strategist. More than two centuries have passed since the Russian troops gained victory in the unprecedented campaign of 1812.
First, they managed to withstand the bloody battle at Borodino against the best regiments of Napoleon's "Great Army", and then, despite the abandonment of Moscow, and the most severe blow in the battle of Maloyaroslavets, they nevertheless expelled the French from Russia.
The choice couldn't be random
With the beginning of the 1812 campaign, Alexander I almost immediately went into the army. At some point, he most likely planned to stand at the head of his troops himself, taking the battle somewhere near the Drissa camp. But it seems that already there, when it was not possible to gather sufficient forces not only to “defeat Bonaparte”, but even to simply defend well-fortified positions, the Russian emperor nevertheless decided to appoint an independent commander-in-chief.
Alexander I clearly did not want to repeat the mistakes of Austerlitz and Friedland. The Russian army had to act either according to the "Scythian" plan proposed earlier by the Minister of War Barclay de Tolly, or, having united with the army of Bagration and reserves, go on the offensive only near Smolensk or even later. However, after a short delay at Drissa, the emperor left the army, which was largely facilitated by the insistence of Barclay, who insisted everywhere that the sovereign had no right to risk himself at the present moment, so difficult for the state.
It cannot be ruled out that the decision to change the cold "Scotsman", who never became popular and failed to gain real authority in the army, was born to the emperor already in the Drissa camp. Moreover, Barclay allowed himself the unthinkable courage to declare to the sovereign that he fetters his initiative as a commander. When, instead of the expected counter-offensive near Smolensk, everything was limited to a rearguard battle and a new retreat, Barclay's fate was decided.
MB Barclay de Tolly directed the actions of all Russian armies only because he was the Minister of War, and he was never appointed commander-in-chief of the entire army. But we must remember that after the resignation of Barclay de Tolly, which happened, in fact, de facto, Emperor Alexander I had a very limited choice of candidates for commander-in-chief.
With his accession, he could well rely not only on the best generals who were promoted under Paul I, but also on many of the "Catherine's eagles", one of which was rightly considered Kutuzov. But with Kutuzov, it seemed, Austerlitz divorced him forever, and during the first ten years of his reign almost none of the "eagles" remained in the ranks.
By 1812, there were no active field marshals in the Russian army. At the beginning of Alexander's reign, the old, but authoritative field marshals Repnin, Musin-Pushkin, Prozorovsky, Elmt, who received their wands under Catherine the Great and Pavel Petrovich, died one after another. In 1809, the eternal rival of the great Suvorov, a very popular field marshal, Count Mikhail Kamensky, also died.
Only two survived. 75-year-old N. I. Saltykov, the educator of the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich, was no longer fit for anything other than to quietly preside over the State Council and the committee of ministers. And the slightly younger 70-year-old I. V. Gudovich, despite the fact that he was a member of the State Council and the commander-in-chief in Moscow, completely lost his mind.
For example, he forbade him to appear at his reception with glasses and condoned the embezzlement of his younger brother, which was the reason that the nobility's assembly voted out Gudovich's candidacy in the election of the commander of the Moscow militia. By the way, M. I. Kutuzov, but he was also elected in St. Petersburg, and unanimously, and he preferred to settle there.
Who will order us to retreat now?
In fact, the first person who could then be represented at the post of commander-in-chief was the sovereign's brother Konstantin Pavlovich. He did not have time to earn great authority in the troops, no one considered him a master of military art either, but in the army he was loved and respected. Any of his orders would be carried out without reservations.
With a good chief of staff, such as the same Barclay, the Tsarevich was obviously capable of much. Under Emperor Paul I, the second son was brought up together with his older brother, preparing for the accession to the Greek throne. He underwent military training in Gatchina, like his father, he adored the formation and "shagistika", and, unlike his older brother, had rich military experience. At the age of 20, he was a volunteer for the Suvorov army in the Italian and Swiss campaigns.
The great commander honored the tsar's offspring with both the most flattering reviews and harsh harassment for ardor, and in the presence of experienced military generals. Tsarevich Constantine fought brilliantly against the French at Austerlitz and in the Polish campaign of 1806-1807.
By 1812, he was only 33 years old, he was already in command of the guard, and he did not have such problems as seniority in the service. His appointment as commander-in-chief would not surprise anyone, although there are doubts that it would bring decisive success. But Alexander not only did not offer Constantine for the post of commander-in-chief, but also soon recalled him from the army, leaving the 5th Guards Corps to the inconspicuous General Lavrov.
However, there are doubts that the reigning brother of Constantine was sincere when, without giving him any appointment at all in the army, he hastened to express fears for the fate of the heir to the throne. Alexander had two more young brothers - Nikolai and Mikhail, and arguing that Constantine was not suitable for the role of commander-in-chief, the sovereign for some reason did not think about whether his brother was suitable for the role of heir and emperor.
Few historians will recall, in this regard, December 1825, but, from the memoirs of his contemporaries, the conclusion literally suggests itself that Alexander was always jealous of his brother's popularity among officers. The emperor, who himself ascended to the throne as a result of the coup, simply could not but have fears about this, because the victorious army, in which case, could very well elevate its leader to the throne.
Kutuzov could have another young and talented competitor - 34-year-old Nikolai Kamensky, who fought almost side by side with him in Turkey. He, like Grand Duke Constantine, was very young in the Swiss campaign with Suvorov, fought at Austerlitz under the command of Bagration, more than once defeated the Turks, but died suddenly in 1811.
In the same 1811, the authoritative General Buxgewden also died, who had repeatedly confronted the French and defeated the Swedes. As a result, in addition to Kutuzov, there were only five other real applicants to lead the Russian army in 1812, and it was their candidates that were to be considered by the Extraordinary Committee, which was convened by order of Alexander I in early August.
It is characteristic that Alexander, realizing the very special nature of the outbreak of the war, which was by no means accidentally called the Patriotic War, did not even begin to propose to the committee for consideration the candidacies of the princes of Württemberg, Oldenburg and Holshtinsky. And this despite the fact that he was in intensive correspondence about a possible appointment with the disgraced French General Moreau, who was in America, and the English General Wellesley, by that time not yet a duke, but only Viscount Wellington.
Bucharest - Peas - Petersburg
So, formally, no one even dismissed Barclay. Leaving the army, Alexander I left him commander-in-chief of the 1st Western Army, and at the same time left next to him his Imperial headquarters, where were the Grand Duke Constantine, and all the "German" princes, and Prince Volkonsky, along with Count Armfeld and the ubiquitous General Bennigsen … All of them intrigued against the "semi-commander" and regularly complained about him to the emperor.
Meanwhile, events with the appointment of Kutuzov developed very quickly. The 67-year-old commander himself, by the way, did almost everything he could for this. To begin with, even before the war with Napoleon, he, who commanded the Moldavian army at that time, not only defeated the Turks at Ruschuk, but also managed to conclude an extremely necessary peace with them. And he did it literally a few days before Admiral Chichagov arrived to replace him in Bucharest with two rescripts signed by the emperor.
In the first, on April 5, Kutuzova was awaiting resignation and recall to St. Petersburg to "sit in the State Council" there, in another, already signed on the 9th, - awards and honors. Kutuzov, who conquered the long-awaited peace, received a second from Chichagov, and in order for the Sultan to ratify the treaty signed by him with the Turkish commander Galib-Effendi, he used clever disinformation.
He presented to the Turks the visit to Vilna of Napoleon's Adjutant General Count of Narbonne as a mission of friendship, as if the French were ready, together with Russia, to go for an immediate partition of Turkey. The Sultan almost immediately allowed Galibu Efendi to sign the Bucharest Peace, and Kutuzov calmly went to his Goroshki estate in Volyn. There he received the news of the beginning of the war with Napoleon.
On June 26, General Kutuzov arrives in the northern capital awaiting an appointment. It is well known that Alexander I disliked Kutuzov, and not from Austerlitz; the young emperor did not like this general even as military governor of St. Petersburg. Kutuzov was not afraid to put the metropolitan police department in place, allowing almost Jacobin liberties in the city, for which he was immediately sent into honorary exile for a couple of years.
However, in the 1805 campaign of the year, Alexander could not do without Kutuzov - his only real competitor - the old field marshal Kamensky in those days, finished off the Turks in Wallachia. Kutuzov skillfully conducted a retreat to Vienna, withdrawing the Russian troops, along with the remnants of the Austrians, defeated by Napoleon at Ulm, from the blow of the superior forces of the French.
The Russians inflicted several painful blows on the French in rearguard battles, and Mortier's corps was generally defeated at Durenstein. The commander-in-chief boldly exposed the entire French army at Schöngraben to the rearguard of Bagration (he, according to Leo Tolstoy, “was saved by a miracle”), which saved the army from encirclement.
Kutuzov was ready to retreat further, but Napoleon managed to convince the supreme leaders of the allies - the two emperors Alexander and Franz of his own weakness and in fact provoked them to fight. The result is known - the defeat of the Russian-Austrian army at Austerlitz was complete, but the military authority of Kutuzov, oddly enough, remained unshakable. However, he was removed "out of the eyes of the sovereign", sent to deal with the Turks.
Already in St. Petersburg, Kutuzov first received a somewhat strange appointment as commander of the 8,000th Narva corps. This was followed by the election to the post of commander of the Petersburg militia, which forced Kutuzov to give up the same honor in Moscow. And for peace with Turkey, he was awarded the title of the Most Serene Prince and entrusted with the command of all sea and land forces in the capital.
But all this in reality is nothing more than regalia. 30 thousand militias were assembled in a matter of days, the princely title is, of course, excellent, but quite a small and not the main advantage when choosing a commander-in-chief. The whole of St. Petersburg says that the appointment of such a person is about to take place.
All this time, Kutuzov, not at all embarrassed, put into motion his old connections, up to prominent positions in the Masonic lodge of St. Petersburg and his acquaintance with the favorite of the tsar, Maria Naryshkina. A true courtier, by no means devoid of ambition, he understood that the campaign that had opened could be his "finest hour." Kutuzov, no worse than others, understood that he did not have many serious rivals for the appointment to the highest post.
The committee makes a decision
It seems that the members of the Extraordinary Committee, which Alexander decided to convene shortly after his arrival from Moscow, understood this well. The most important thing happened in one day - August 5th. In the morning, the emperor got acquainted with the letters in which Count Shuvalov urged the tsar of the need to appoint a single commander-in-chief, and Barclay reported on the retreat of the united armies to Porech'e. And this after he was ordered to advance.
Arakcheev was instructed to assemble an Extraordinary Committee of the most important dignitaries of the empire, and to represent the person of the sovereign in it. The committee included the chairman of the State Council, the already mentioned elderly field marshal Count N. I. Saltykov, Count V. P. Kochubei, St. Petersburg Governor-General S. K. Vyazmitinov, Minister of Police A. D. Balashov and a member of the State Council, Prince P. V. Lopukhin, by the way, is the head of the Great East Masonic lodge.
According to the report of Arakcheev, in just three hours - from seven to ten in the afternoon, a decision was made in favor of Kutuzov. The committee immediately recalled that Mikhail Illarionovich, despite his considerable age, was not only very popular, but also a very active commander. Many of his comrades-in-arms, like the same Bagration or Ermolov, considered him not too lucky, but they obeyed him unquestioningly. Kutuzov's authority among officers and generals was, let's say, quite sufficient.
Before Kutuzov, the members of the committee considered the candidacies of generals L. L. Bennigsen, D. S. Dokhturov, P. I. Bagration, A. P. Tormasov and P. A. Palena. And if Bennigsen was not forgotten by Friedland, then Palen was rejected due to his almost complete lack of combat experience. Dokhturov and Tormasov did not suit the committee, as they were little known and almost never were independent commanders, and Bagration's candidacy did not pass literally from the words of Alexander I, who wrote to his sister that he "understands nothing in strategy."
Isn't it, somehow surprisingly easily and simply, Kutuzov was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief? Remember how in Tolstoy's novel the visitors of Anna Pavlovna Scherer's salon were shocked by this? But, apparently, the members of the Extraordinary Committee had the most serious reasons for such a decision. And it is worth remembering how quickly in the same salon they decided to recognize Scherer Kutuzov as “their own”.
Despite his immoderate addiction to alcohol and women, in the company of the old commander, with good reason, he was considered courteous, sophisticated and cunning. In the army under the command of Kutuzov, all the officers and the overwhelming majority of the generals were ready, the soldiers treated him like a good master. Such, if necessary, will ask them if necessary - and whip them, but they will always be dressed, shod and full, and if they “work well”, then the “master” will not skimp on awards.
Finally, it is impossible not to recall that today, for some reason, not only idle talk is again in vogue, but also the deeply rooted attitude of Leo Tolstoy to Kutuzov as to an “aged satire”. However, in the campaign of 1812, with all the visible manifestations of laziness and simply defiant sybarism, he showed himself as an extremely enterprising commander.
After all, not only his troops were always active, giving the French a break only for the time that they held Moscow. The 67-year-old commander-in-chief himself, contrary to the assertions of a number of contemporaries, often spent several hours in the saddle, going round the positions. The meetings over the map were almost constantly dragged out at Kutuzov's well after midnight.
On the field of Borodino, the commander-in-chief did not at all sit out at headquarters in Gorki, but constantly traveled around the positions, although mostly not on horseback, but in a chaise. And all this - according to the testimony of those very critics who, in fact, did not skimp on caustic remarks about their commander-in-chief. It should be recalled that on the night before the battle, Kutuzov participated in a protracted prayer service in front of the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God.
We are not the first to say that history does not know the subjunctive mood, but the choice of the commander-in-chief in the Patriotic War could not be accidental, and it is not by chance that the glory of the "winner of the French" went to Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. For a long time in the Russian Empire and in the Soviet Union, among historians, Kutuzov, as a military leader, without any reservations, was considered to be at least equal to Napoleon.
Meanwhile, Russian regiments came to the walls of Paris under the leadership of other commanders, and the old Field Marshal Kutuzov died in the Silesian town of Bunzlau shortly after the French left Russia. Nominally, the Austrian field marshal Schwarzenberg was listed as commander-in-chief, the Russian troops were again led by Barclay de Tolly, but Emperor Alexander I himself became the true supreme leader of the allied forces.
