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Battle Of Berezina
The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Peter Wittgenstein, Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov, Chichagov. Napoleon was retreating toward Poland in chaos after the aborted French occupation of Moscow, occupation of Moscow and trying to cross the Berezina River at Barysaw, Borisov. The outcome of the battle was inconclusive as, despite heavy losses, Napoleon managed to cross the river and continue his retreat with the surviving remnants of his army. Background Napoleon had fought his way out of Russia in the battles of Battle of Maloyaroslavets, Maloyaroslavets, Battle of Vyazma, Vyazma and Battle of Krasnoi, Krasnoi. His plan was to cross the Berezina river, Berezina River at Barysaw, Borisov (in Belarusian Governorate General) in order to join up with his Austrian ally, Field Marshall Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, Schwarzenberg at Minsk. As the central ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Invasion Of Russia
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the Continental System, continental blockade of the United Kingdom. Widely studied, Napoleon's incursion into Russia stands as a focal point in military history, recognized as among the list of battles by casualties, most devastating military endeavors globally. In a span of fewer than six months, the campaign exacted a staggering toll, claiming the lives of nearly a million soldiers and civilians. On 24 June 1812 and subsequent days, the initial wave of the multinational Grande Armée crossed the Neman River, marking the entry from the Duchy of Warsaw into Russia. Employing extensive forced marches, Napoleon rapidly advanced his army of nearly half a million individuals through European Russia, Western Russia, encompassing present-day Belarus, in a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Duchy Of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name Hesse und bei Rhein in 1816 to distinguish itself from the Electorate of Hesse, which had formed from the neighbouring Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. Colloquially, the grand duchy continued to be known by its former name of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1806, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt seceded from the Holy Roman Empire and joined Napoleon's new Confederation of the Rhine. The country was promoted to the status of grand duchy and received considerable new territories, principally the Duchy of Westphalia. After the French defeat in 1815, the grand duchy joined the new German Confederation. Westphalia was taken by Prussia, but Hesse received Rhenish Hesse in return. A constitution was proclaimed in 1820 and a long process of legal reforms was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Riga (1812)
The siege of Riga was a military operation during the Napoleonic Wars. The siege lasted five months from July – December 1812, during which the left flank of Napoleon's "Great Army" (''Grande Armée, La Grande Armée'') tried to gain a favorable position for an attack on Russian-controlled port city Riga, the capital of the Governorate of Livonia. They failed to cross the Daugava, Daugava River, and accordingly the siege was not carried out completely. Background During Emperor of the French, Emperor Napoleon, Napoleon's French invasion of Russia, Invasion of Russia, two corps were sent to towards the Baltic Sea via Courland and Lithuania in-order to secure his northern flank. One of the corps, Marshal of the Empire, Marshal Étienne Macdonald, Étienne MacDonald's X Corps (Grande Armée), X Corps was sent towards the Courland and subsequently began moving towards Riga.Chandler, pp. 1240–1241 By mid July 1812, the Riga garrison had grown to around 14,000 troops. The Russi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Maloyaroslavets
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812 as part of the French invasion of Russia. It was Kutuzov's decisive battle to force Napoleon to retreat northwest over Mozhaisk to Smolensk on the devastated route of his advance with a higher probability of starvation. Kutuzov's next attack against the remnants of the , the Battle of Krasnoi, began on 15 November 1812, three weeks later. Prelude The last major battle had been the Battle of Tarutino on 18 October 1812, that was won by the Russian army. A great part of the large mob of non-combatants, invalids from the hospitals, women, fugitive inhabitants of Moscow, whose number can only be guessed at, was directed upon Vereya and the straight road to Smolensk and only the fighting force was to march towards Kaluga. On 19 October 1812, Napoleon had retreated from Moscow and marched south-west to Kaluga, Eugène de Beauharnais leading the advance The French army leaving Moscow was estimated by Wilson: 90,000 effect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Occupation Of Moscow
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's occupied Moscow from 14 September to 19 October 1812 during the Napoleonic Wars. It marked the summit of the French invasion of Russia. During the occupation, which lasted 36 days, the city was devastated by fire and looted by both Russian peasants and the French. Napoleon's invasion of Russia began on the 24th of June in 1812, and he had made considerable progress by autumn. With French victory in the Battle of Borodino on 7 September, the way to Moscow was open. The opposing Russian army under Mikhail Kutuzov had suffered heavy losses and chose to retreat. A week of close escapes on the part of the Russian army followed. Napoleon and Kutuzov even slept on the same bed in the manor of Bolshiye Vyazyomy just one night apart, as the French chased the Russians down. Napoleon and his army entered Moscow on 14 September. To Napoleon's surprise, Kutuzov had abandoned the city, and it fell without a fight. Hundreds of thousands of civilians fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' fought against the Imperial Russian Army. After the Russian retreat in the Battle of Smolensk the road to Moscow lay open. Napoleon fought against General Mikhail Kutuzov, whom the Emperor Alexander I had appointed to replace Barclay de Tolly on 29 August 1812 after Smolensk was razed and captured by the French army. After the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon remained on the battlefield with his army; the Imperial Russian forces retreated southwards. What followed was the French occupation of Moscow, while the retreating Russians resorted to scorched earth tactics to trap Napoleon and his men within their own largest city. The failure of the ' to completely destroy the Imperial Russian army, and in particular Napoleon's reluctance to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Smolensk (1812)
The Battle of Smolensk was the first major battle of the French invasion of Russia. It took place on 16–18 August 1812 and involved about 45,000 men of the under Emperor Napoleon I against about 30,000 Russian troops under General Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon occupied Smolensk by driving out Prince Pyotr Bagration's Second Army. The French artillery bombardment burned the city to the ground. Of 2,250 buildings, 84% were destroyed with only 350 surviving intact. Of the city's 15,000 inhabitants, about 1,000 were left at the end of the battle inside the smoking ruins. With over 15,000 casualties, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the invasion. Prelude Vitebsk operation The Russian First Western Army under General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly slipped away from Vitebsk on 27 July after an inconclusive fight against Emperor Napoleon, avoiding a general engagement. Napoleon was frustrated by his inability to bring the Russian army to battle and lingered at Vitebsk until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Vitebsk (1812)
The battle of Vitebsk, sometimes spelled Witepsk, was a military engagement that took place on 26 and 27 July 1812 during the French invasion of Russia. The battle put a French force, under the command of Emperor Napoleon I, in combat with Russian rearguard forces under General Pyotr Konovnitsyn (on 26 July) and Peter von der Pahlen (on 27 July) and ended with the Russian forces making a strategic retreat from the battlefield. The battle occurred as Napoleon was trying to envelop the Russian First Army at Vitebsk and force them to accept battle. The commander of the Russian First Army, General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, was himself aiming to fight and thus massed the bulk of his forces at Vitebsk, even though he was aware that his chances to win against Napoleon were not good. Barclay's motivation to make a stand resulted from political pressures and from his own desire to improve the army's morale, after weeks of retreating without a fight. The fighting on 26 July h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yefim Chaplits
Yefim Ignatyevich Chaplits/Tschaplitz (; 1768–1825), born Eufemiusz Czaplic, was a Polish military commander in the service of the Russian Empire. Life Eufemiusz Czaplic was born into an old Polish noble family Czaplic (Kierdeja coat of arms) and began military service in the Polish army, but entered Russian service with a rank of second major on 26 October 1783. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92, he served on the staff of Prince Potemkin and took part in the battles of Ochakov, Bendery and Akkerman. He received the Order of St. Vladimir of 4th degree with bow for the capture of Izmail, where he commanded the chasseurs. In 1792 he became Lieutenant Colonel and was transferred to the Smolensk Dragoon Regiment of General Mikhail Kakhovsky. During the Kościuszko's Uprising of 1794 Czaplic was sent by Baron Igelström to carry out peace negotiations with the Poles, but was wounded and captured at Warsaw. He was soon released and participated in the Persian Campaig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pavel Chichagov
Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov or Tchichagov (; ) was a Russian army and naval commander of the Napoleonic Wars. Biography He was born in 1767 in Saint Petersburg, the son of Admiral Vasily Chichagov and his English wife. At the age of 12 he was enlisted in the Guard. In 1782 he served in a campaign in the Mediterranean as an aide to his father. He served with distinction in the Russian-Swedish War of 1788–1790, where he commanded the ''Rostislav'' and was awarded the Order of St. George, fourth degree, and a golden sword with the inscription "For Courage". After the war, he studied at the Royal Naval Academy. While there, he met Elizabeth Proby, the daughter of a commissioner at the Chatham Dockyard, and became engaged to her. When he returned to Russia in 1796, he applied for permission to marry but was told by Paul I "there are sufficient brides in Russia; there is no need to look for one in England." Some violence followed and Chichagov was sent to prison. He was soo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Wittgenstein
Louis Adolf Peter, 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg (; ; ''Pyotr Christianovitch Wittgenstein''; – 11 June 1843), better known as Peter Wittgenstein in English, was a prince of the German dynasty of Sayn-Wittgenstein and field marshal in the Imperial Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was nicknamed the ''Saviour of Saint-Petersburg''. Early life Born Ludwig Adolf Peter Graf zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg, he was descended from a family of ruling German Counts whose seat was in Berleburg (present day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). His parents were Count Christian Louis Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg and his first wife, Countess Amalie Ludowika Finck von Finckenstein (1740–1771). Military career Enrolled as a sergeant in the Semyonovsky Regiment of the Imperial Russian Army at the age of 12 in 1781, Wittgenstein began actual military service as a Wachtmeister in the Life Guard Horse Regiment in 1789. In 1793 he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michel Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The son of a cooper from Saarlouis, Ney worked as a civil servant until 1787 when he enlisted in a cavalry regiment, right before the outbreak of French Revolution. Distinguishing himself as a cavalry officer in the War of the First Coalition, he quickly rose through the ranks and, by the Battle of Hohenlinden (1800), he had been promoted to divisional general. On Napoleon's proclamation of the French Empire, Ney was named one of the original 18 Marshals of the Empire. He played an instrumental role during Napoleon's subsequent campaigns, seeing action at Elchingen (1805), Jena (1806) and Eylau (1807). Ney commanded the French rearguard during the disastrous invasion of Russia, for which he was lauded as "the bravest of the brave" by the empero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
