During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. the protection of Emperor Alexander II was carried out by a specially created Guards detachment of His Majesty's honorary convoy. The emperor treated the ranks of this unusual unit warmly, generously rewarded the officers and participated in the fates of these people.
At the person of His Imperial Majesty
The detachment was formed by order of Alexander II on May 2, 1877, to enable the guardsmen to take part in hostilities. Along with His Majesty's own Cossack escort, the detachment performed the functions of the personal protection of the sovereign. The detachment consisted of an infantry company, a half-squadron of cavalry, and half a company of guards sappers and foot artillerymen. The company included the lower ranks of all infantry regiments and battalions of the guard, as well as three army regiments, where the emperor was the chief. A half-squadron and a half-company engineer were formed on the same principle. The total number of the detachment is about 500 people under the command of the adjutant wing, Colonel of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, Peter Ozerov. Needless to say, the officers were the color of the Russian guard.
On May 15, the detachment went to war. After examining the detachment in Romania, Alexander II told the officers that he wanted to give them the opportunity to participate in hostilities. The infantry company was divided "into two turns" by lot. On June 15, the "first stage" took part in the successful crossing of the Danube, and on August 22, the "second stage" - in the battle of Lovcha.
The detachment was under the emperor until the fall of Plevna, and then, after the monarch returned to Russia, for almost three months he served at the apartment of the commander-in-chief of the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. After that, the detachment guarded the emperor in St. Petersburg and the Crimea and was disbanded on November 29, 1878. A similar military unit appeared again after the assassination of Alexander II, when it was decided to create a Consolidated Guards company to protect the emperor, which was then deployed into a battalion, and in 1907 - in regiment 1.
The irrecoverable losses of the officers of the detachment were high - one died, two died of wounds, another returned to his regiment and soon also died. The emperor took part in the fate of each, not skimping either on awards or tokens of attention.
Richard Brendamour. Emperor of Russia Alexander II. 1896 Photo: reproduction / Homeland
"I feel that I will not be back"
The first officer whom the detachment lost during the war was the 25-year-old second lieutenant of the Life Guards of the 1st Artillery Brigade, Alexander Tyurbert. With the guards artillerymen, he was assigned to the 2nd mountain battery2. As the Russian diplomat Nikolai Ignatiev, who was in the Imperial Main Apartment, wrote: "Tyurbert is a handsome young man with brilliant talents, a sweet character, who complained … that his special knowledge did not seem to be used in an artillery battle. His desire was satisfied."
Thurbert found himself on one of the first pontoons to cross the river. The lieutenant was overwhelmed by unpleasant forebodings, the officer of the detachment Nikolai Prescott noted: "Shortly before the departure of the first voyage, Tyurbert called me to him. He was already on the ferry. Approaching him, I was amazed at the depression of his appearance, his drooping spirit. He called me to say goodbye.: "I feel that I will not return." The poor man foresaw his fate, after half an hour he was not alive. In my presence a clumsy, heavy ferry sailed off and went to the other side."
The ferry "moved forward with difficulty and apparently passed the landing point, went down the river and came under the nearest fire from a company of Turks occupying the high right bank", one of the boats that made up the ferry was pierced in several places by bullets and began to fill with water, " besides, some of the horses were wounded … The roll increased and, finally, the ferry sank into the water with one side and everything went to the bottom."
The body of the second lieutenant was found only on June 21 on the shallows of one of the Danube islands, the next day the coffin covered with resin was taken to the Orthodox church, which was located not far from the Imperial apartment in Zimnitsy. Soldiers of the "first order" were lined up outside the church 5. Ignatiev recalled: "When they sat down at the table … a funeral march rang out … and the funeral ringing of a neighboring church: they carried the body … of Tyurbert … His body … was recognized by his comrades only by his uniform and shoulder straps. His face turned blue, disfigured and swollen, his fist clenched with his teeth. … The Emperor succumbed to one of those magnificent heartfelt hobbies that are characteristic of him, he got up from the table, hurriedly followed the coffin carried by his comrades, entered the church and was present until the end of the funeral service. " As noted by Minister of War D. A. Milyutin, "the burial was touching: an old priest served in a dilapidated, dilapidated, dark church; guards sappers, by order of the Tsar, dug a grave during the funeral service." The first shovel of earth was thrown into the grave by the emperor himself. Later, Tyurbert's body was transported to St. Petersburg8.
Return of His Majesty's convoy from the theater of operations. Photo: reproduction / Homeland
"The bullet stuck so tightly in the bones."
While crossing the Danube, the detachment commander, 34-year-old Peter Ozerov, was also wounded. Ignatiev wrote: "The Guards company … suffered greatly. It had to fall under the steepness with which the Turks, who had settled in each bush, were beating at choice. Our soldiers jumped from the pontoons and without a shot screaming" hurray! " and those who defended stubbornly, bravely … Ozerov … they were wounded by a bullet in the leg quite dangerously. His valet, who served for 25 years, certainly wanted to be with him forever and received a bullet right in the chest, but was saved by a rubber pillow, which he carried on his chest under a dress for the master. " …
According to one of the testimonies, Ozerov "was saved from captivity or death by a special accident: he was lying behind the bushes, next to him was a drummer and about five soldiers … Suddenly they see … the Turks are walking towards them, the drummer was found - they hit the offensive, the wounded shouted hurray! And the deceived Turks turned back. " Ozerov was awarded the "Golden Weapon" 10 for this deed. On June 16, the emperor visited him in the hospital11. A few days later, Prescott conveyed a bow from the Emperor to Ozerov: "I sat for about an hour by the bed of our commander, whom I found in a fairly calm state, but weak and very thin. The bullet sat so firmly in the bones that the doctors decided not to take it out."
After some time, the colonel returned to the capital, but was unable to recover from the wound12. Due to the fact that Ozerov could not continue military service, in April 1879 he was sent to the retinue of His Imperial Majesty, and on June 6 of the same year he died in Ems (Germany) 13. The colonel's body was taken to St. Petersburg and buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent14.
"He was a decoration and an inspiration"
In the battle near Lovcha, another officer was seriously wounded - 31-year-old staff captain of the Guards Horse-Artillery Brigade Pyotr Savvin. Prior to this battle, he had already managed to distinguish himself during the capture of the city of Tarnovo by the Russian cavalry, and then the guards artillerymen were assigned "to a long-range half-battery, made up of … steel Krupp guns captured from the Turks …" The guardsmen served two guns commanded by Savvin15. During the battle, an enemy bullet struck the staff-captain in the chest, went right through and "came out in the back near the ridge" 16. For this battle, the emperor awarded the wounded with the Golden Weapon. Officer Konstantin Prezhbyano wrote that the emperor "gave me the St. George lanyard for Savin." Four months later, Savvin died in the Kiev Red Cross infirmary, where he arrived from Bulgaria18. As Prezhbyano noted, "he was the decoration and inspiration of our half-battery: he was admired not only by us, the artillerymen, but also by everyone who knew him."
Having received the news of the death of an officer in St. Petersburg, Alexander II ordered to serve in his presence in the large palace church a requiem, to which all the horse artillerymen who were then in the capital were summoned20. Savvin's body was transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Sergiev Hermitage (Strelna) 21.
Departure of the combined detachment to the Imperial headquarters along the Warsaw Railway. Photo: reproduction / Homeland
"Give him more opportunities for combat distinction."
The adjutant wing, colonel of the Pavlovsk Regiment Life Guards (born in 1839), who led the detachment after Ozerov was wounded, Konstantin Runov (born in 1839), in less than two months, managed to take part in the Lovcha case, receive the Golden Weapon and join his regiment, which, together with the entire guards infantry arrived in Bulgaria. As the official history of the Pavlovsk regiment explains, Runov returned to the Pavlovtsi, "due to the fact that after being promoted to colonels, Captain von Enden's wing-adjutant, there were two colonels in the convoy; besides, Runov was the commander of the 1st battalion of the regiment … His Majesty releases him from his convoy to the regiment, only to give him more opportunities for combat distinction "22. However, Prezhbyano described it somewhat differently in his letter: “Of course, a little awkwardness came out, since the head of the Emperor's Honorary Convoy is higher than the battalion commander. "23.
On September 1, Runov signed the last order for the detachment: "Leaving the command of the glorious honorary escort of His Majesty, I cannot but express my sincere gratitude and deep gratitude to all the officers. I sincerely thank the lower ranks for their zealous and valiant service in battle and outside. Blessed by the great mercies of the sovereign chief, at the present moment I have only regret - this is that friends and comrades have to part with you."
According to the testimony of the writer Countess E. Salias de Tournemire, "his gaze was sad and somehow strange looking - seeing nothing, remained in my memory to this day."
On October 12, the Pavlovsk regiment took part in the bloody battle at Gorny Dubnyak. During the battle, the colonel found himself with several companies 200 meters from the Turkish redoubt. According to the regiment's history, "Runov decided to attack the redoubt, hoping that even if he managed to bring his people only into the ditch, the Turks would not dare to remain in the immediate vicinity of any significant enemy."
Runov with a revolver led his subordinates to heaps of straw, which were 60 steps from the redoubt. However, only a small group reached the straw, the rest fled under fierce Turkish fire. Bullets literally mowed this group of Pavlovtsi (the straw, of course, could not protect them). At this moment, Russian artillery, supporting the attackers, fired at Runov and his soldiers. As a result, several people were injured, including the colonel - his left side was cut to the neck. The adjutant wing was immediately carried out on the canvas of tents to the dressing station, where he spent the whole night, after which, despite the protests of the doctors, he demanded to be taken to the redoubt: "Bring me to my fellows, I want to die among my battalion." However, only Runov's body was brought to the redoubt.
When the redoubt, at the cost of huge losses, was finally taken, Runov and four other officers were buried there in a common grave. On October 26, by order of the emperor, Runov's body was dug up. After the requiem, his remains were placed in wooden and iron coffins (the latter was made from the removed roof of the mosque in Gorny Dubnyak) and sent to St. Petersburg26. According to Prezhbyano, "passing by our apartment, the coffin was brought into the church, where a panikhida was served in the presence of the sovereign. The king cried a lot and, while singing" Rest with the Saints "and" Eternal Memory ", knelt down." The tsar could not talk about Runov without tears, "eyewitnesses said … that going around the guard and talking about him, the sovereign wept bitterly, saying:" His death is on my conscience, since I sent him into action a second time. "27 Runov was buried on Smolensk Orthodox cemetery in St. Petersburg.28 In addition to the four above, three more officers died within a few years after the end of the war.
Danube army. Review of the consolidated detachment by the emperor in Ploiesti. Photo: reproduction / Homeland
"Stanislav on the chest"
The surviving officers of the detachment did not escape numerous monarchs of mercy. The majority received several Russian and foreign orders. Even those who did not take part in the battles received awards. The artilleryman Konstantin Prezhbyano ironically sounded about his colleague Alexander Voronovich: “The Tsar sent Voronovich to the Gurko detachment … that he was honored to receive a kiss from the Emperor and "Stanislavka" on his chest; then, being sent by the Tsar to inform the Romanian Karl, he also received a cross from him "29.
In addition to orders and medals, each of the officers received a personal saber from the emperor. This was a reciprocal gift: the fact is that on November 29, 1877, the day after the capture of Plevna, Alexander II put on a St. George lanyard on his usual saber in honor of the victory (a distinctive sign of the award Golden weapon, which was awarded for his personal courage and dedication). At that moment, Colonel Peter von Enden, who commanded the detachment, was sent a Golden Saber, discharged from St. Petersburg, with the inscription "For Bravery." On December 1, at a general meeting of the officers of the detachment, it was decided to bring this weapon to the emperor, which was executed the next day (the king greatly appreciated this gift, the saber was with him even during the assassination attempt on March 1, 1881). On December 3, the emperor departed for Russia. Saying goodbye to the Honorary Convoy, he said: "I thank the officers again for the saber and I will send everyone a saber from me." The Emperor fulfilled his promise, in April 1878 he personally presented the officers of the detachment with personalized sabers with commemorative inscriptions, and then - silver badges "in memory of his stay with His Majesty, during the Turkish War." The badge consisted of the monogram of Alexander II, surrounded by a wreath of laurel and oak leaves, with an imperial crown on top30.
The main result of service in the detachment and close communication with the monarch (the officers ate every day at the same table with the emperor, were repeatedly honored with conversations with him) was career advancement. Already in June and August 1877, lieutenants of the army regiments (they got into the detachment due to the fact that their units were patronage) Dmitry Ilyin and Nikolai Volkov were transferred "by the same rank" to the Izmailovsky Life Guards regiment31. In addition, a large number of the detachment's officers were assigned to the sovereign's suite. In total, during the existence of the detachment (from May 2, 1877 to November 29, 1878), 45 officers were appointed aide-de-camp of the emperor, 8 of them served in the convoy. Two more officers received this rank within 9 months after the detachment was disbanded32. But the most striking evidence of the privilege of the escorts was that of the seventeen officers who survived, thirteen reached the ranks of generals, and four took the posts of governors and vice-governors.
Photo report: Sergei Naryshkin took part in the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878
Notes (edit)
1. Kopytov S. Two sabers // Old Tseikhgauz. 2013. N 5 (55). S. 88-92.
2. Prescott N. E. Memories of the War of 1877-1878 // Journal of the Imperial Russian Military-Historical Society. 1911. Book. 5. S. 1-20; Book. 7, pp. 21-43 (pag.4th). P. 13.
3. Ignatiev N. Travel letters of 1877. Letters from E. L. Ignatieva from the Balkan theater of military operations. M., 1999. S. 74.
4. Prescott N. E. Decree. Op. S. 23, 25.
5. Matskevich N. Guards detachment of His Majesty's honorary convoy in the Turkish war of 1877-1878, Warsaw, 1880. P. 79.
6. Ignatiev N. Decree. Op. P. 74.
7. Milyutin D. A. Diary 1876-1878. M., 2009. S. 255.
8. Prescott N. E. Decree. Op. P. 39.
9. Ignatiev N. Decree. Op. S. 59-60.
10. Pages for 185 years: biographies and portraits of former pages from 1711 to 1896. Collected and published by O. von Freiman. Friedrichsgam, 1894-1897. S. 562-563.
11. Milyutin D. A. Diary 1876-1878. P. 251.
12. Prescott N. E. Decree. Op. P. 41.
13. History of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment. 1683-1883 T. 3. 1801-1883. Part 1. SPb., 1888. S. 349.
14. Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich. Petersburg necropolis. SPb., 1912-1913. T. 3. P. 299.
15. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877 (from the letters of Captain K. P. Prezhebyano) // Military-Historical Bulletin. 1954. N 3. P. 9.
16. Diary of the Tsar-Liberator's stay in the Danube army in 1877. SPb., 1887. S. 163.
17. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877 …. // Military Historical Bulletin. 1953. No. 2. P. 24-25.
18. Matskevich N. Guards detachment of an honorary convoy … p. 237.
19. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877 …. // Military-Historical Bulletin. 1953. N 2. P. 22.
20. Diary of stay … p. 163.
21. Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich. Petersburg necropolis. SPb., 1912-1913. T. 4. P. 5.
22. History of the Life Guards Pavlovsky Regiment. 1790-1890. SPb, 1890. S. 303.
23. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877…. // Military-Historical Bulletin. 1954. No. 3. C.3.
24. RGVIA. F. 16170. Op. 1. D. 2. L. 68ob.
25. Salias de Tournemire E. Memories of the War of 1877-1878. M., 2012. S. 93.
26. History of the Life Guards Pavlovsky Regiment … pp. 315, 322 - 324, 331, 334-335.
27. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877 (from the letters of Captain KP Prezhebyano) // Military Historical Bulletin. 1954. N. 4. P. 44, 46.
28. Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich. Petersburg necropolis. SPb., 1912-1913. T. 3. P. 636.
29. Emperor Alexander II in the Turkish War of 1877 (from the letters of Captain KP Prezhebyano) // Military-Historical Bulletin. 1954. No. 4. S. 44-45.
30. Kopytov S. Decree. Op. S. 90-91.
31. Matskevich N. Guards detachment of an honorary convoy. S. 4-5.
32. Centenary of the War Office. 1802-1902. Imperial headquarters. The history of the sovereign suite. Reign of Emperor Alexander II. Applications. SPb., 1914. S. 264-272.]
