The First Western Army was created in 1810 as part of the reorganisation of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

, and was intended as a defense against the north-western part of the Empire from the expected invasion by Napoleon. The total troops in this Army included 150

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s, 128 squadrons, 19

cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

s, and 590 guns.

History

The command-in-chief of the First West Army on March 19 (April 2) 1812 was assigned to General of the Infantry M. B. Barklay de Tolli. However, after arriving 14 (26) April 1812 in Vilno at the general headquarters of the First West Army, the Emperor

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

became both legally and actually its commander-in-chief, since according to §18 of "Establishments for management of the large acting army”, introduced on January 27 (8) February 1812, “the presence of Emperor represents the main command authority of the army, unless when specified by an order, the acting commander-in-chief is directed to retain complete authority”. There was no such order, therefore, the Emperor assumed command of the army. When on the 7 (19) July 1812 the Emperor left the field army, M. B. Barklay de Tolli again became its commander-in-chief.''Complete collection of the laws of the Russian Empire'', coll.1, v.32, №24975 from 27.01.1812.

Commanders during the Napoleonic Wars

*Commander-in-Chief Emperor Alexander I *Commander - General of the Infantry of M. B. Barclay de Tolly *Chief of Staff - General Lieutenant N. I. Lavrov *General-quartermaster - General Major S. A. Mukhin *Duty General - Fligel-Adjutant Colonel P. A. Kikin *Chief of Artillery - General Major Graf A. I. Kutaysov *Chief of Engineers - General Lieutenant Kh. I. Truzson * 1st Infantry Corps General Lieutenant Graf P. Kh. Witgenshteyn * 2nd Infantry Corps General Lieutenant K. G. Baggovut * 3rd Infantry Corps General Lieutenant N. A. Tuchkov I * 4th Infantry Corps General Lieutenant Graf P. A. Shuvalov * 5th Reserve Guard Corps Cesarevitch

Constantine Pavlovich Konstantin Pavlovich (russian: Константи́н Па́влович; ) was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He was the heir-presumptive for most of his elder brother Alexan ...

* 6th Infantry Corps General of the Infantry D. S. Dokhturov * 1st Cavalry Corps General Adjutant F. P. Uvarov * 2nd Cavalry Corps General Adjutant Baron F. K. Korf * 3rd Cavalry Corps General Major Graf P. P. Palen III * Flying Cossack Corps General of the Cavalry M. I. Platov

References and note

Russian military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Armies of the Russian Empire Military units and formations established in 1810 {{Russia-hist-stub