Checking the availability of personnel and their readiness to conduct public and state training.

During the main part, I bring to the attention of the personnel the main issues of public and state training.

The prerequisites for the Crimean War (1853 -1856) are considered to be: - weakening Ottoman Empire , its desire at any cost to maintain influence over the once-controlled territories and, above all, in the Black Sea in the Caucasus and Crimea; - strengthening of Russia’s positions in the Caucasus, Crimea, and the Black Sea and extreme dissatisfaction with this in England, France and Turkey; - the struggle of major European powers for the redistribution of spheres of influence and their opposition to the strengthening of Russian power. The reason for the outbreak of the Crimean War was a dispute between France and Russia over the right to control the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. France believed that the keys to the temple should belong to the Catholic community, and Russia - to the Orthodox. On February 11, 1853, Prince Menshikov was sent as ambassador to Porto with a demand for recognition of the rights of the Greek Church to holy places in Palestine and for Russia to be granted protection over the 12 million Christians in the Ottoman Empire, who made up about a third of the total Ottoman population. All this had to be formalized in the form of an agreement. In March 1853, having learned about Menshikov's demands, Napoleon III sent a French squadron to the Aegean Sea. Later, the English squadron received a similar order. In May, Türkiye allowed the Anglo-French squadron to enter the Dardanelles Strait. After this, Nicholas I ordered Russian troops (numbering 80 thousand people) to occupy the Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, subordinate to the Sultan, “as a pledge until Turkey satisfies the fair demands of Russia.” On June 21 (July 3), Russian troops entered the Danube principalities. Trying to use the favorable opportunity to “teach a lesson” to Russia through the hands of the Western allies, the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I on September 27 (October 9) demanded the cleansing of the Danube principalities within two weeks, and after Russia did not fulfill this condition on October 4 (16), 1853, he announced her war. On October 20 (November 1), Russia declared a state of war with Turkey. The combat operations of the ground forces took place in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Crimea, the navy - mainly in the Black Sea and to a limited extent in the Pacific Ocean. With the beginning of the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), a squadron of the Black Sea Fleet, consisting of sailing ships under the command of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, began cruising to the Anatolian shores of Turkey. At the beginning of November 1853, from a survey of the teams of merchant ships, he learned that the Turkish squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Osman Pasha and the English adviser A. Slade, traveling from Istanbul to the Sukhum-Kale (Sukhumi) and Poti area for landing, took cover from storms in Sinop Bay under the protection of strong coastal batteries. It consisted of seven frigates, three corvettes, two steam frigates, two brigs and two military transports (472 guns in total). On November 8, Russian ships approached Sinop Bay and discovered the Turkish fleet. Nakhimov decided to block the enemy in the bay, and with the arrival of reinforcements from Sevastopol, destroy him. On November 16, the repaired ships arrived. Now his squadron consisted of six-line ships and two frigates. Nakhimov did not wait for the enemy fleet to leave Sinop, but decided to attack and destroy it in the bay. Nakhimov’s tactical plan was to bring his ships into the Sinop roadstead as quickly as possible and attack the enemy from a short distance simultaneously with all battleships built in two columns. This formation of ships and the rapid deployment of forces shortened the time the ships remained under enemy fire at the moment of approach and made it possible to bring all battleships into battle as soon as possible. Having developed a battle plan, Admiral Nakhimov introduced it to his junior flagship, Rear Admiral F.M. Novosilsky and ship commanders. The attack was scheduled for November 18 (30). On this day, at 9:30 a.m., the Russian squadron weighed anchor and in two wake columns, three battleships in each, headed for the Sinop roadstead. The right column was headed by Nakhimov, who was holding his flag on the ship "Empress Maria", the left column was led by Rear Admiral Novosilsky, who was on the battleship "Paris". When the enemy flagship Avni-Allah was the first to open fire, the rest of the Turkish ships and coastal batteries opened fire on the approaching Russian ships. Despite the fierce fire, the Russian ships continued to approach the enemy without firing a single shot and only when they arrived at the designated places did they return fire. The numerical superiority of the Russian squadron in artillery and the excellent training of the Russian gunners immediately affected the results of the battle. Firing from bomb guns was especially destructive, the explosive bombs of which caused great destruction and fires on Turkish wooden ships. Shortly after the start of the battle, the Turkish flagship Avni-Allah, which was being fired upon by the battleship Empress Maria, was seriously damaged and driven aground. After this, the Empress Maria transferred the fire to the Turkish frigate Fazli-Allah, which also caught fire after the flagship. Other Russian ships were no less successful. Interacting, they consistently destroyed enemy ships. At the same time, the battleship Paris, commanded by Captain 1st Rank V.I. Istomin, within an hour, destroyed two other enemy ships, after which he transferred the fire to the coastal battery. The firing of Russian ships was highly accurate and fast. In three hours, the Russian squadron destroyed 15 enemy ships and silenced all its coastal batteries. Only one steamship, the Taif, commanded by the English officer A. Slade, managed to escape. Russian sailing frigates, left by Nakhimov on mobile patrol, tried to pursue the Turkish steamer, but to no avail. Thus, the Battle of Sinop ended in complete victory for the Russian fleet. The Turks lost 15 ships out of 16 and over 3 thousand people killed and wounded. The commander of the Turkish squadron, Admiral Osman Pasha, three ship commanders and about 200 sailors were captured. The Russian squadron had no losses in ships, but some of them were seriously damaged. Personnel losses were 37 killed and 233 wounded. During the battle, the Russian squadron fired 18 thousand shells at the enemy. The outstanding victory of the Russian fleet in the Battle of Sinop had a great influence on the subsequent course of the war. The destruction of the enemy squadron - the main core of the Turkish fleet - disrupted the landing on the Caucasus coast prepared by the Turks and deprived Turkey of the opportunity to conduct military operations in the Black Sea. The Battle of Sinop was the last major battle of sailing fleets, in which, along with sailing ships, the first steam ships - steam frigates - also took part.

The commander-in-chief of the Russian troops in Crimea, Prince Menshikov, decided to give battle to the enemy army at a position he had previously chosen on the Alma River - on the way from Yevpatoria, where the allies landed, to Sevastopol along the seashore. Up to 30 thousand Russian troops were concentrated near the Alma River. On September 7, Anglo-French troops approached the Russian position and positioned themselves to the north, 6 km from it. The Russians had half as many soldiers, almost three times as much artillery, and very few rifled rifles. The Russian infantry was armed with flintlock smoothbore rifles with a firing range of 300 steps. The British and French had Stutser rifled guns with a firing range of 1200 steps. The battle began on the morning of September 8. To facilitate the offensive of the troops, the enemy sought to suppress the opposition of Russian artillery, concentrating intense fire on it. There were many killed and wounded among the artillerymen. The infantry also suffered heavy losses from enemy long-range rifles. The Russians aimed for bayonet attacks. But the French and British avoided hand-to-hand combat and fired heavily from a distance inaccessible to obsolete Russian guns. Under the cover of heavy artillery and rifle fire, the British crossed the Alma. Commander-in-Chief Menshikov gave the order to withdraw. The losses of the Anglo-French troops turned out to be so significant that they did not dare to pursue Menshikov’s army, which retreated to Sevastopol. By the beginning of the war, there were up to 42,000 inhabitants in Sevastopol, of which about 30,000 were military men. The sea approaches to the city were protected by coastal defense batteries. In total there were 14 batteries with 610 guns of various calibers. From land, Sevastopol was almost not fortified. Throughout the seven-kilometer space of the defensive line there were 134 small-caliber guns installed in unfinished earthen fortifications. The defense of the city was headed by the Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov. His closest assistant was Vice Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, who was the head of the defense of the southern side of Sevastopol. Under the leadership of Kornilov and Nakhimov, the heroic defenders of the city, during the fight against the enemy, turned Sevastopol into a powerful fortress that successfully repelled the enemy’s onslaught for 349 days. In the days of the beginning of the heroic defense of the city, in order to block the entry of enemy ships into the Sevastopol roadstead, it was decided to scuttle some of the old ships at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay. The decision to scuttle some of the ships was correct, because the enemy fleet consisted of 34 battleships, 55 frigates, including 50 wheeled and screw steamers. The Black Sea Fleet had only 50 ships, of which 14 battleships and 7 frigates, 11 paddle steamers (and not a single screw). In conditions of such inequality in forces, combat operations at sea would lead to the inevitable death of the Black Sea Fleet. On September 11, five old battleships and two frigates were sunk at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay. The ship's guns were used to strengthen the coastal defense, and sailors and officers were sent to defend the city. On September 14, the allied armies approached the northern side of Sevastopol. Having exaggerated information about its fortifications, the enemy changed direction and decided to attack the city from the southern side. On September 14, the enemy occupied the town of Balaklava, located 14 km from Sevastopol, which had a small but deep harbor capable of receiving ships with deep draft. Reinforcements for the Anglo-French armies were brought here on ships. By the end of September, the enemy had an army of 67 thousand people near Sevastopol, including 41 thousand French, 20 thousand British and 6 thousand Turks. The garrison of Sevastopol by this time consisted of 30 thousand soldiers, sailors and officers. The enemy scheduled the bombing of Sevastopol followed by an assault on October 5. At about 7 o'clock in the morning on October 5, enemy batteries opened fierce fire on the city. Somewhat later, the enemy fleet approached the entrance to Sevastopol Bay and began the first bombardment of the city, hoping to suppress the batteries and break into the bay. The United Fleet operated with 1,340 guns on one side, which were countered by only 115 Russian guns. The remaining Russian batteries located along the shores of the bay could not take part in the artillery duel, since the fire of their guns was designed to defeat ships that had already broken into the bay. During the 8-hour shelling from the sea, the Allied ships fired 50 thousand shells. Although the garrison of Sevastopol had losses, not a single battery was completely suppressed. The retaliatory fire of the Russian batteries caused significant damage to the Allied ships. The enemy's plan was foiled. The losses of the Sevastopol garrison amounted to 1,250 people. killed and wounded. The talented organizer and head of the defense of Sevastopol, Vice Admiral V.A., died. Kornilov. After the death of Kornilov, Nakhimov became the only de facto leader of the defense of Sevastopol. The Anglo-French troops, convinced of the impossibility of quickly taking Sevastopol, began to besiege the city. In the second half of October, the strength of the Russian army in Crimea reached 65 thousand. In addition, the arrival of two more infantry divisions was expected. With the arrival of new reinforcements, the balance of forces changed in favor of the Russians. Taking this into account, Menshikov decided to attack the right flank of the enemy - the British - from Inkerman. On October 24, after a seven-hour battle, the Russian troops, having inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, especially the British, retreated to their original positions. The plan to storm Sevastopol before the onset of winter was thwarted. The enemy had to quickly prepare for the winter campaign, something he had never even thought about before, hoping for the quick fall of Sevastopol. In November - December 1854, the British army was demoralized. However, the Russian commander-in-chief Menshikov failed to take advantage of this and did not take a single serious action until February of the following year. The enemy was waiting for spring and reinforcements. At the end of February 1855, Menshikov was replaced by Prince Gorchakov, commander-in-chief of the Danube Army. During the winter, Sevastopol lived an active, vibrant life. Work was carried out to restore the destroyed fortifications, trenches were moved forward for rifle fire from the enemy, and night raids were often carried out to destroy the fortifications and batteries erected by the enemy. There were specialists in night forays both among sailors and soldiers, and among officers. Lieutenant Biryulev, Lieutenant Colonel Golovinsky, Lieutenant Zavalishin, sailors Pyotr Koshka, Fyodor Zaika, soldier Afanasy Eliseev became famous among the numerous heroes of Sevastopol. All of Russia knew their names. Forays were also carried out at sea. Underground mine warfare gained significant scope during the siege of Sevastopol. The French, not being able to advance to the 4th bastion, decided to advance with underground mine galleries to undermine the bastion. The chief military engineer of Sevastopol, Totleben, guessed the enemy's intentions. He began to create an extensive countermine system in front of the bastion. The idea of ​​the Russian countermine system was to attack the besieger underground, undermine his galleries and throw the enemy back. During the underground mine war during the defense of Sevastopol, the Russians laid up to 7,000 meters of galleries and sleeves and carried out 120 explosions. March 7, 1855 Rear Admiral V.I. Istomin, bypassing the positions, was killed by a cannonball that hit him in the head. Having lost his faithful assistant and friend, Nakhimov took over part of Istomin’s work. On March 27, 1855, Vice Admiral Nakhimov was awarded the rank of admiral. During February - March, the defensive line of Sevastopol was strengthened, new guns were removed from the ships and new guns were installed on the fortifications. Total number The number of guns reached 900, but only 460 guns could fire at enemy trenches and artillery. The rest, mostly of small calibers and insufficient range, were placed to fire at the nearest approaches, to shell individual areas of the terrain and for the internal defense of fortifications. The enemy had 482 guns in their batteries. In terms of the number of guns, the enemy's superiority was small, but in terms of the power of fire it was much more significant. The garrison of Sevastopol was in great need of shells and especially gunpowder. On March 28, the second major bombardment of Sevastopol began and continued without interruption, day and night, until April 6. During the second bombardment, the enemy spent 168,700 shells, the Russians - 88,700. The defenders of Sevastopol used up almost the entire supply of shells, with the exception of an emergency reserve in case of an assault. The lengthy but unsuccessful siege of Sevastopol led to the fact that on May 3, the commander-in-chief of the enemy forces, Canrobert, was removed from command and replaced by General Pelissier. In April - May, reinforcements continued to arrive to the enemy near Sevastopol. At the end of May, the number of enemy troops increased to 200 thousand people. There were about 70 thousand Russian troops in Sevastopol and its environs, of which only 40 thousand directly defended Sevastopol. On May 25 at 15:00 the third bombardment of Sevastopol began, which lasted until May 30. Enemy batteries were ordered to fire at least 150 rounds with each gun before 06:00 on May 26th. 500-600 charges were prepared for the gun. The Russians had a stock of guns that did not exceed 60-90 rounds. On June 5, 1855, the fourth bombardment of Sevastopol began, after which on June 6 the enemy launched an assault on the city’s fortifications. About 30 thousand French were concentrated against the Malakhov Kurgan, on which the main attack of the 1st and 2nd bastions was delivered. At the same time, the British decided to storm the 3rd bastion. English troops were allocated 14 thousand. In total, thus, 44 thousand people were intended for the assault, this was more than twice the number of defenders of Sevastopol in this area. The enemy attack fizzled out 30 - 40 steps from the Russian fortifications. Suffering huge losses, the French began to retreat. After 15 minutes the attack was repeated, but to no avail. At the same time, French attacks began on Malakhov Kurgan and British attacks on the 3rd bastion, which were also repulsed. The assault was repelled in all areas. During the bombing and assault, the enemy spent 72,000 shells, the Russians - 19,000. The total losses of the Russians reached 4,800 people. The enemy lost over 7 thousand soldiers and 18 officers killed and 270 soldiers captured. On June 28, the defenders of Sevastopol suffered an irreparable loss: Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov was mortally wounded on Malakhov Kurgan. With the death of Nakhimov, Sevastopol lost the “soul of defense”, and the Russian fleet - a most talented naval commander, the Russian people - one of their glorious sons. After the death of Nakhimov, especially difficult days came for Sevastopol. By the beginning of August, from the French advanced trenches to the Malakhov Kurgan there was no more than 110 m, to the 2nd bastion - 120 m. The number of enemy guns reached 640, not counting the reserve of 250 guns. The entire personnel of the Russian army was eager for active action. After much hesitation and conferences, Commander-in-Chief Gorchakov finally made a decision - to strike the enemy with the forces of the army stationed outside Sevastopol. On August 4, a battle took place, which in military history was called the “Battle of the Chernaya River.” It was not successful. Forces were scattered, reserves were not used, and the actions of the units were not coordinated with each other. After the battle on the Chernaya River, Commander-in-Chief Gorchakov, with his characteristic indecisiveness, changed his plan of action several times. In the end, he decided to continue the defense of Sevastopol and at the same time secretly prepare for the evacuation of the city. On August 5, intensive bombardment of Sevastopol began, which did not stop for twenty days. Twice - from August 5 to 8 and from August 24 to 26 - particularly strong hurricane artillery fire fell on the city. These two periods were called the fifth and sixth bombings. The defenders of Sevastopol's supplies of shells were exhausted, and there were few guns left. Gorchakov decided to withdraw his troops to the North Side. By August 15, a 900-meter floating bridge across Sevastopol Bay was ready. On August 15, Gorchakov gave the order for all headquarters and departments to move to the North Side. Considering the overwhelming superiority in forces, the dilapidated state of the Russian fortifications and the enormous losses that the Russian troops had suffered over the past month, Pelissier, after some hesitation, gave the order to storm the city on August 27. At dawn on August 27, the enemy fired from all guns, concentrating it mainly on the Malakhov Kurgan and the 2nd bastion. The intensified cannonade continued for several hours. At noon, the assault on the entire defensive line of Sevastopol began simultaneously. The main blow was delivered by French troops to the 2nd bastion and Malakhov Kurgan. All enemy attacks, repeated several times, were repulsed along the entire defensive line with heavy losses. Only on the Malakhov Kurgan did the French manage to gain a foothold. An exceptionally unfavorable situation for the Russian troops forced the command to withdraw troops to the northern side of Sevastopol, despite their determination to defend their hometown. Simultaneously with the crossing of troops, the remnants of the Black Sea Fleet were scuttled in the bay. The abandonment of the southern side of Sevastopol did not in any way shake the determination of its defenders to continue the fight against the enemy and expel him from the borders of the Motherland. At the end of 1855, military operations in all theaters of war virtually ceased. At the beginning of 1856, peace negotiations began, and on March 18 a peace treaty was signed in Paris. For many decades, the traditions of the defenders of Sevastopol inspired the Russian people to fight against foreign conquerors who encroached on the national independence of our Motherland. Even today they are an example for soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces of honest and responsible performance of military duty.

During the final part, I conduct a brief survey of personnel on the material presented. I answer questions.

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 Europe
  • 1.1 Era of Napoleon
    • 1.1.1 War of 1805: France against the third anti-Napoleonic coalition
    • 1.1.2 Russian-Prussian-French War of 1806-1807 - War of the Fourth Coalition
  • 1.2 Spanish-French War
  • 1.3 Austro-French War of 1809. War of the Fifth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition
    • 1.3.1 Patriotic War of 1812
    • 1.3.2 War of the Sixth Coalition
  • 1.4 Other wars of the beginning of the century
    • 1.4.1 Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812)
    • 1.4.2 Russo-Swedish War 1808-1809
    • 1.4.3 Russo-Persian War 1826-1828
    • 1.4.4 Crimean War 1853-1856
    • 1.4.5 Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871
    • 1.4.6 Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878
  • 1.5 19th century, other
• 2 America

Introduction

1. Europe

1.1. Napoleon era

1.1.1. War of 1805: France against the third anti-Napoleonic coalition

• Battle of Trafalgar - between the French-Spanish and British fleets
• Battle of Ulm - the encirclement of the Austrian army by Napoleon
• Battle of Amstetten - between the French vanguard and the Russian rearguard
• Battle of Shengraben - encirclement and unsuccessful attempt destruction of Bagration
• The Battle of Durrenstern is an unsuccessful attempt by Kutuzov with part of the forces (24,000 people) of his army to destroy the French. Gazan's division (8,000 people).
• Battle of Austerlitz - also known as Battle of Three Emperors: Napoleon, the Austrian Archduke and Alexander I. The French inflict a crushing defeat on the Allied army.

1.1.2. Russian-Prussian-French War of 1806-1807 - War of the Fourth Coalition

• Battle of Golymin - 18,000 Russians stopped 38,000 French
• Battle of Pultusk - L. L. Bennigsen fought a draw with the corps of Marshal Lann.
• Battle of Charnovo - 5,000 Russians engage Davout's corps (20,000 men)
• The Battle of Preussisch Eylau is a bloody battle between Napoleon and Bennigsen. It ended in a draw, but at night the Russian army retreated.
• Battle of Guttstadt - Bennigsen defeated the French corps. Marshal Ney.
• Battle of Heilsberg - Bennigsen repelled all attacks of Marshals Lannes and Murat.
• The Battle of Friedland is a French victory that led to the Peace of Tilsit

1.2. Spanish-French War

• Battle of Bailen 1808 - defeat of the French. General Dupont de l'Etan, Pierre-Antoine surrendered.
• Battle of Albuera 1811 - Battle of the village of Albuera near the city of Badajoz (Spain), as a result of which the combined forces of the English expeditionary force, Spanish and Portuguese troops (43 thousand) defeated Napoleon's troops (23 thousand).

1.3. Austro-French War of 1809. War of the Fifth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition

• Battle of Aspern-Essling - May 21-22, 1809 - Napoleon's tactical retreat
• Battle of Batavia - August 26, 1811 - Jakarta was captured by the British. The Franco-Dutch garrison surrendered

1.3.1. Patriotic War of 1812

• The battle of Grodno - Platov's Cossack corps against the corps of Beauharnais and Poniatovsky. The first battle of the War of 1812.
• The Battle of Oshmyany - the rearguard of the 1st Western Army against the vanguard of Napoleon's Grand Army.
• The Battle of Dovigony - the rearguard of the 1st Western Army against the vanguard of the Great Army.
• The Battle of Kozyany - the rearguard of the 1st Western Army against the vanguard of the Great Army.
• The Battle of Daugelishki - the rearguard of the 1st Western Army against the vanguard of the Great Army.
• Battle of Karelichi - Platov's Cossack corps against Murat's cavalry.
• Platov’s actions in the rearguard - near the town of Mir, the Cossack ataman Platov defeats the Polish cavalry.
• Battle of Romanov - Platov enters the battle again.
• The battle on the Dvina River is the first clash between Wittgenstein's corps and Oudinot.
• The Battle of Gross-Eykau is a battle between the Russian detachment of F. F. Leviz and the Prussian troops allied with France.
• Battle of Brest-Litovsk - battle of Tormasov’s 3rd Western Army with the Saxon corps.
• The battle at Agoponovshchina - the rearguard of the 1st Western Army against the vanguard of the Great Army.
• The battle at Filipov is Wittgenstein's corps against Oudinot's corps.
• The battle at Salz - the 3rd Western Army against the Saxon corps.
• The Battle of Vilkomir is another holding battle won by the Russians.
• The Battle of Saltanovka - Davout defeats the Russian 7th Infantry Corps, repelling the attempts of Bagration's army to break through to Mogilev.
• The Battle of Ostrovno was a fierce three-day battle near Vitebsk between the rearguard of the 1st Western Army and the vanguard of Napoleon's Grand Army.
• Battle of Kobrin - Tormasov destroys the Saxon brigade.
• The Battle of Gorodechno - the Austro-Saxon army, using its double numerical superiority, defeats Tormasov's 3rd Western Army.
• The first battle of Krasnoye (see Battle of Smolensk (1812)) - Neverovsky's division successfully repelled all attacks by the many times superior forces of the French cavalry.
• Battle of Yakubovo - Wittgenstein's Russian corps repels the attack of Oudinot's corps.
• Battle of Klyastitsy - Wittgenstein's corps defeats the superior forces of Oudinot's French corps.
• Battle of Boyarshchino - Oudinot's corps defeats Kulnev's detachment.
• The Battle of Golovshtice - Wittgenstein reflects Oudinot's attempt to build on the success after the victory over Kulnev.
• Battle of Smolensk (1812) - 15,000 Russians stop Napoleon's entire Grand Army (182,000 people), but abandon the city the next day due to fires.
• The battle at Valutina Mountain - in a bloody battle, Barclay de Tolly successfully repelled the attacks of the corps of Ney, Junot, Davout and Murat.
• The first battle near Polotsk (1812) - Saint-Cyr's corps defeats Wittgenstein's Russian corps and throws it back from the city of Polotsk, but does not dare to pursue it.
• The battle for Shevardino, see the Battle of Borodino - Napoleon, after a persistent bloody battle, captures the Shevardino redoubt.
• The Battle of Borodino is the largest battle of the Patriotic War between the Russian and French armies, a tactical and strategic victory for Napoleon [ source not specified 788 days] .
• The Battle of Mesothene is a battle between Prussian and Russian troops. Having suffered defeat, the Russians retreated to Riga.
• Tarutino battle - Kutuzov defeats Murat's corps with an unexpected attack.
• Battle of Maloyaroslavets - Napoleon, in a stubborn battle, defeats the vanguard of Kutuzov’s army, but does not dare to give a general battle the next day and retreats.
• The second battle of Polotsk - Wittgenstein with 50,000 soldiers takes the city of Polotsk by storm, defeating the corps of Saint-Cyr.
• 1st battle for Volkovysk - the Russian corps of Sacken knocks out the Saxons from the city of Volkovysk.
• 2nd battle for Volkovysk - the Saxons under the command of Rainier with a successful attack force the Russians to leave Volkovysk.
• Battle of Chashniki - Wittgenstein's corps defeats Victor's corps
• Battle of Smolyany - Wittgenstein and Victor unsuccessfully fight for the village of Smolyany.
• The Battle of Vyazma (1812) was an unsuccessful attempt by Kutuzov with the forces of General Miloradovich to cut off and destroy Davout’s corps.
• The battle near Lyakhovo - a Russian partisan detachment forces the French Augereau brigade (2,000 people) to surrender.
• 1st battle for Borisov - the vanguard of Chichagov’s army inflicts a crushing defeat on Dombrowski’s Polish division and takes Borisov by storm.
• 2nd battle for Borisov - Oudinot defeats Chichagov's army and captures Borisov.
• The Battle of Krasnoye (Second Battle of Krasnoye) is a four-day battle between the main forces of the Russian and French armies. Kutuzov acts very carefully and allows the guard and Napoleon to leave unhindered to the west.
• The Battle of Kutkovo, see The Battle of Krasny-Roga with the Young Guard inflicts a crushing defeat on Ozharovsky’s Russian detachment.
• The battle for Uvarovo, see The Battle of Krasnoye - The Young Guard knocks out the Russians from the village of Uvarovo and repels the attacks of L.L. Bennigsen, but later retreats on Napoleon's orders.
• Battle of the Berezina - Napoleon breaks out of the encirclement of 3 Russian armies to the west.
• The Battle of Molodechno is one of the last attempts by the French to delay the rapid pursuit of them by Russian troops.
• The Battle of Lyakhovka (see Battle of the Berezina) - the corps of Oudinot and Ney repelled the advance of Chichagov's army, which was trying to prevent the Great Army from crossing the Berezina River.
• 3rd Battle of Borisov (see Battle of the Berezina) - Wittgenstein’s corps encircles and forces the rearguard of Victor’s corps, Partunno’s division, to capitulate.
• Battle of Studenka (see Battle of the Berezina) - Victor spends the entire day repelling attacks from superior Russian forces under the command of Wittgenstein, but is forced to withdraw in the evening.

1.3.2. War of the Sixth Coalition

• Battle of Arcy-sur-Aube

1.4. Other wars of the beginning of the century

1.4.1. Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812)

• 1807 - Battle of Athos - naval battle off the Athos peninsula, victory of Senyavin’s squadron
• 1807 - Battle of the Arpachay River - on the territory of Armenia
• 1809 - Siege and assault on Brailov - an unsuccessful attempt to storm the Turkish fortress with inferior forces
• 1809 - Battle of Rassevat - Bagration’s capture of the Turkish fortress in Dobruja (now Romania)
• 1810 - Battle of Bazardzhik - Kamensky’s capture of the Turkish fortress in Bulgaria
• 1810 - Siege of Rushchuk - Kamensky’s unsuccessful attempt to take another Turkish fortress
• 1810 - Capture of Sukhum - by landing from a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet
• 1810 - Battle of Bata - another victory for Kamensky
• 1810 - Capture of Akhalkalaki - a fortress in Georgia
• 1811 - Rushchuk-Slobodzeya operation - a series of battles after Kutuzov was made commander-in-chief of the Danube Army. (complete defeat of the Turks, but “not in numbers, but in skill”)

1.4.2. Russo-Swedish War 1808-1809

• 1808 - Battle of Revolax - encirclement and defeat of Russian troops, after which the Finnish partisan movement revived
• 1808 - Battle of Salmi - a difficult turning point two-day battle
• 1808 - Battle of Oravais - completion of the previous battle, strengthening of positions
• 1809 - Åland expedition - Bagration’s corps crossed the ice to the Åland Islands and recaptured them from the Swedes
• 1809 - Battle of Ratan - the final battle of the last Russian-Swedish war

1.4.3. Russo-Persian War 1826-1828

• Battle of Shamkhor - After the defeat, Abbas Mirza lifted the siege of Shushi

1.4.4. Crimean War 1853-1856

• Sinop
• Battle of Alma 1854 - defeat of Russian troops
• Battle of Balaklava 1854 - The Russians were unable to achieve their goal - to defeat the English camp and cut off the supply of English troops. The result of the battle was the Allies' abandonment of the idea of ​​capturing Sevastopol by storm and the transition to positional siege operations.

1.4.5. Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871

• Battle of Amiens - The Prussian army (45,000) defeated the French (25,000)
• Battle of Sedan

1.4.6. Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878

• 1877
  • Battle of Kyzyl-Tepe
  • Battle of Simnitz
  • Battle of Svistovo
  • Battle of Nicopolis
  • First Battle of Shipka Pass
  • Second Battle of Shipka Pass
  • Battle of Lovcha
  • Third Battle of Shipka Pass
  • Battle of Horni Dubnik
  • Battle of Kars
  • Siege of Plevna
• 1878
  • Fourth Battle of Shipka Pass
  • Battle of Plovdiv

1.5. 19th century, other

• 1898 - Battle of Omdurman - restoration of British control over Sudan

2. America

• 1856 - Battle of Rivas - victory of the Costa Ricans over the troops of William Walker.

Invaders came from both the West and the East. They spoke different languages, they had different weapons. But their goals were the same - to ruin and plunder the country, to kill or take its inhabitants into captivity and slavery.

Today, in connection with this holiday, we decided to remember the most significant battles in the history of our Fatherland. If we forgot something, you can write it in the comments.

1. Defeat of the Khazar Kaganate (965)

The Khazar Khaganate was for a long time the main rival of the Russian state. The unification of Slavic tribes around Rus', many of which had previously been dependent on Khazaria, could not but increase tension in relations between the two powers.

In 965, Prince Svyatoslav subjugated the Khazar Khaganate to his power, and then organized a campaign against the strong tribal union of the Vyatichi, who paid tribute to the Khazars. Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the army of the Kagan in battle and raided his entire state, from the Volga to North Caucasus. Important Khazar cities were annexed to Rus' - the fortress of Sarkel (White Vezha) on the Don, which controlled the route from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea (now at the bottom of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir), and the port of Tmutarakan on the Taman Peninsula. The Black Sea Khazars fell into the sphere of Russian influence. The remnants of the Kaganate on the Volga were destroyed in the 11th century by the Polovtsians.

2. Battle of the Neva (1240)

The Novgorod prince was only 19 years old when, in the summer of 1240, Swedish ships, probably led by Birger Magnusson, entered the mouth of the Neva. Knowing that Novgorod was deprived of the support of the southern principalities, the Swedes, instructed from Rome, hoped, at a minimum, to seize all the lands north of the Neva, simultaneously converting both pagans and Orthodox Karelians to Catholicism.

The young Novgorod prince led a lightning attack by his squad and destroyed the Swedes' camp before they could strengthen it. When getting ready for the campaign, Alexander was in such a hurry that he did not gather all the Novgorodians who wanted to join, believing that speed would be decisive, and he turned out to be right. In the battle, Alexander fought in the front ranks.

The decisive victory over superior forces brought Prince Alexander great fame and the honorary nickname - Nevsky.

However, the Novgorod boyars feared the growing influence of the prince and tried to remove him from governing the city. Soon Alexander left Novgorod, but within a year the threat new war forced the Novgorodians to turn to him again.

3. Battle of the Ice (1242)

In 1242, German knights from the Livonian Order captured Pskov and approached Novgorod. The Novgorodians, who had quarreled with Prince Alexander a year before, turned to him for help and again transferred power to him. The prince gathered an army, expelled the enemies from the Novgorod and Pskov lands and went to Lake Peipsi.

On the ice of the lake in 1242, in a battle known as the Battle of the Ice, Alexander Yaroslavich destroyed an army of German knights. The Russian riflemen, despite the onslaught of the Germans who were breaking through the regiments in the center, bravely resisted the attackers. This courage helped the Russians surround the knights from the flanks and win. Pursuing the survivors for seven miles, Alexander showed the firmness of the Russian army. Victory in the battle led to the signing of a peace agreement between Novgorod and the Livonian Order.

4. Battle of Kulikovo (1380)

The Battle of Kulikovo, which took place on September 8, 1380, was a turning point that showed the strength of the united Russian army and the ability of Rus' to resist the Horde.

The conflict between Mamai and Dmitry Donskoy became more and more aggravated. The Principality of Moscow strengthened, Rus' won many victories over the troops of the Horde. Donskoy did not listen to Mamai when he gave Prince Mikhail Tverskoy a label for Vladimir, and then stopped paying tribute to the Horde. All this could not help but lead Mamai to the idea of ​​the need for a quick victory over the enemy who was gaining strength.

In 1378, he sent an army against Dmitry, but it was defeated on the Vozha River. Soon Mamai lost influence on the Volga lands due to the invasion of Tokhtamysh. In 1380, the Horde commander decided to attack the Donskoy army in order to completely defeat his forces.

On September 8, 1380, when the armies clashed, it became clear that there would be a lot of losses on both sides. The legendary exploits of Alexander Peresvet, Mikhail Brenk and Dmitry Donskoy were described in “The Tale of the Massacre of Mamaev.” The turning point for the battle was the moment when Bobrok ordered to delay the ambush regiment, and then cut off the retreat of the Tatars who had broken through to the river. The Horde cavalry was driven into the river and destroyed, meanwhile the remaining forces mixed up other enemy troops, and the Horde began to retreat in disorder. Mamai fled, realizing that he no longer had the strength to continue the fight. According to various estimates, on September 8, 1380, from 40 to 70 thousand Russians and from 90 to 150 thousand Horde troops fought in the decisive battle. The victory of Dmitry Donskoy significantly weakened the Golden Horde, which predetermined its further collapse.

5. Standing on the Ugra (1480)

This event marks the end of the Horde's influence on the politics of the Russian princes.

In 1480, after Ivan III tore up the khan's label, Khan Akhmat, having concluded an alliance with the Lithuanian prince Casimir, moved to Rus'. Seeking to unite with the Lithuanian army, on October 8 he approached the Ugra River, a tributary of the Oka. Here he was met by the Russian army.

Akhmat's attempt to cross the Ugra was repulsed in a four-day battle. Then the khan began to wait for the Lithuanians. Ivan III, in order to gain time, began negotiations with him. At this time, the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray, an ally of Moscow, attacked the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which did not allow Casimir to help Akhmat. On October 20, the regiments of his brothers, Boris and Andrei Bolshoi, came to reinforce Ivan III. Having learned about this, Akhmat turned his army back to the steppe on November 11. Soon Akhmat was killed in the Horde. So Rus' finally broke the Horde yoke and gained independence.

6. Battle of Molodi (1572)

On July 29, 1572, the Battle of Molodi began - a battle whose outcome decided the course of Russian history.

The situation before the battle was very unfavorable. The main forces of the Russian army were stuck in a fierce struggle in the west with Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was possible to gather only a small zemstvo army and guardsmen under the command of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky and governor Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin against the Tatars. They were joined by a 7,000-strong detachment of German mercenaries and Don Cossacks. The total number of Russian troops was 20,034 people.

To fight the Tatar cavalry, Prince Vorotynsky decided to use the “walk-city” - a mobile fortress, behind the walls of which archers and gunners took refuge. Russian troops not only stopped the enemy, which was six times superior, but also put him to flight. The Crimean-Turkish army of Devlet-Girey was almost completely destroyed.

Only 20 thousand horsemen returned to Crimea, and none of the Janissaries escaped. The Russian army, including the oprichnina army, also suffered heavy losses. In the fall of 1572, the oprichnina regime was abolished. The heroic victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Molodin - the last major battle between Rus' and the Steppe - was of enormous geopolitical significance. Moscow was saved from complete destruction, and the Russian state from defeat and loss of independence. Russia retained control over the entire course of the Volga, the most important trade and transport artery. The Nogai horde, convinced of the weakness of the Crimean Khan, broke away from him.

7. Battle of Moscow (1612)

The Battle of Moscow became the decisive episode of the Time of Troubles. The occupation of Moscow was lifted by the forces of the Second Militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The garrison, completely blocked in the Kremlin and Kitay-Gorod, having received no help from King Sigismund III, began to experience an acute shortage of provisions, it even reached the point of cannibalism. On October 26, the remnants of the occupation detachment surrendered to the mercy of the winner.

Moscow was liberated. “The hope of taking possession of the entire Moscow state collapsed irrevocably,” wrote a Polish chronicler.

8. Battle of Poltava (1709)

On June 27, 1709, the general battle of the Northern War took place near Poltava with the participation of 37,000-strong Swedish and 60,000-strong Russian armies. Little Russian Cossacks participated in the battle on both sides, but most fought for the Russians. The Swedish army was almost completely destroyed. Charles XII and Mazepa fled to Turkish possessions in Moldavia.

Sweden's military forces were undermined, and its army was forever left among the best in the world. After the Battle of Poltava, Russia's superiority became obvious. Denmark and Poland resumed participation in the Nordic Alliance. Soon the end of Swedish domination in the Baltic was put to an end.

9. Battle of Chesma (1770)

The decisive naval battle in Chesme Bay took place at the height of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774.

Despite the fact that the balance of forces in the battle was 30/73 (not in favor of the Russian fleet), the competent command of Alexei Orlov and the valor of our sailors allowed the Russians to gain strategic superiority in the battle.

The Turkish flagship Burj u Zafer was set on fire, followed by many more ships of the Turkish fleet.

Chesmen was a triumph for the Russian fleet, secured the blockade of the Dardanelles and seriously disrupted Turkish communications in the Aegean Sea.

10. Battle of Kozludzhi (1774)

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Russia obtained another a major victory. The Russian army under the command of Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kamensky near the city of Kozludzha (now Suvorovo in Bulgaria), with an unequal balance of forces (24 thousand versus 40 thousand), was able to win. Alexander Suvorov managed to knock the Turks out of the hill and put them to flight without even resorting to a bayonet attack. This victory largely determined the outcome of the Russian-Turkish war and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign a peace treaty.

11. Capture of Ishmael (1790)

On December 22, 1790, Russian troops under the command of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov stormed the previously impregnable Turkish fortress of Izmail.

Shortly before the war, with the help of French and German engineers, Izmail was turned into a fairly powerful fortress. Defended by a large garrison, it withstood two sieges undertaken by Russian troops without any particular difficulties.

Suvorov took command just 8 days before the final assault. He devoted all the remaining time to training soldiers. The troops trained to overcome obstacles and ramparts specially created near the Russian camp, and practiced hand-to-hand combat techniques on stuffed animals.

A day before the assault, a powerful artillery shelling of the city began from all guns. It was fired upon both from land and sea.

At 3 a.m., long before dawn, a flare was launched. This was a sign of preparation for the assault. Russian troops left the location and formed into three detachments of three columns.

At half past five the soldiers launched an attack. The fortress was attacked from all sides at once. By four o'clock the resistance was completely suppressed in all parts of the city - the impregnable fortress fell.

The Russians lost more than 2,000 soldiers killed and about 3,000 wounded in the battle. Significant losses. But they could not be compared with the losses of the Turks - they only lost about 26,000 people killed. The news of the capture of Ishmael spread throughout Europe like lightning.

The Turks realized the complete futility of further resistance and signed the Treaty of Jassy the following year. They renounced claims to Crimea and a protectorate over Georgia, and ceded part of the Black Sea region to Russia. The border between the Russian and Ottoman empires moved towards the Dniester. True, Ishmael had to be returned back to the Turks.

In honor of the capture of Izmail, Derzhavin and Kozlovsky wrote the song “Thunder of Victory, Ring Out!” Until 1816 it remained the unofficial anthem of the Empire.

12. Battle of Cape Tendra (1790)

The commander of the Turkish squadron, Hasan Pasha, managed to convince the Sultan of imminent defeat navy Russia, and at the end of August 1790 moved the main forces to Cape Tendra (not far from modern Odessa). However, for the anchored Turkish fleet, the rapid approach of the Russian squadron under the command of Fyodor Ushakov was an unpleasant surprise. Despite the superiority in the number of ships (45 versus 37), the Turkish fleet tried to flee. However, by that time, Russian ships had already attacked the front line of the Turks. Ushakov managed to remove all the flagships of the Turkish fleet from the battle and thereby demoralize the rest of the enemy squadron. The Russian fleet did not lose a single ship.

13. Battle of Borodino (1812)

On August 26, 1812, significant forces of the French and Russian armies clashed in the battle near the village of Borodino, 125 kilometers west of Moscow. The regular troops under the command of Napoleon numbered about 137 thousand people, the army of Mikhail Kutuzov with the Cossacks and militia that joined it reached 120 thousand. The rugged terrain made it possible to move reserves unnoticed, and to install artillery batteries on hills.

On August 24, Napoleon approached the Shevardinsky redoubt, which stood near the village of the same name, three miles in front of the Borodino field.

The Battle of Borodino began a day after the battle at the Shevardinsky redoubt and became the largest battle in the War of 1812. The losses on both sides were colossal: the French lost 28 thousand people, the Russians - 46.5 thousand.

Although Kutuzov gave the order to retreat to Moscow after the battle, in his report to Alexander I he called the Russian army the winner of the battle. Many Russian historians think so.

French scientists see the battle at Borodino differently. In their opinion, “in the Battle of the Moscow River” Napoleonic troops won. Napoleon himself, reflecting on the results of the battle, said: “The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.”

14. Battle of Elisavetpol (1826)

One of the key episodes Russian-Persian war 1826-1828 was the battle near Elisavetpol (now the Azerbaijani city of Ganja). The victory then achieved by Russian troops under the command of Ivan Paskevich over the Persian army of Abbas Mirza became an example of military leadership. Paskevich managed to use the confusion of the Persians who had fallen into the ravine to launch a counterattack. Despite the superior enemy forces (35 thousand against 10 thousand), the Russian regiments began to push back Abbas Mirza’s army along the entire front of the attack. The losses of the Russian side amounted to 46 killed, the Persians were missing 2,000 people.

15. Capture of Erivan (1827)

The fall of the fortress city of Erivan was the culmination of numerous Russian attempts to establish control over the Transcaucasus. Built in the middle of the 16th century, the fortress was considered impregnable and more than once became a stumbling block for the Russian army. Ivan Paskevich managed to competently besiege the city from three sides, placing cannons along the entire perimeter. “The Russian artillery acted wonderfully,” recalled the Armenians remaining in the fortress. Paskevich knew exactly where the Persian positions were located. On the eighth day of the siege, Russian soldiers burst into the city and dealt with the fortress garrison with bayonets.

16. Battle of Sarykamysh (1914)

By December 1914, during the First World War, Russia occupied a 350 km front from the Black Sea to Lake Van, while a significant part of the Caucasian Army was pushed forward - deep into Turkish territory. Turkey came up with a tempting plan to outflank the Russian forces, thereby cutting off railway Sarykamysh-Kars.

The tenacity and initiative of the Russians who defended Sarakamysh played a role decisive role in an operation whose success literally hung by a thread. Unable to take Sarykamysh on the move, two Turkish corps fell into the arms of an icy cold, which became fatal for them.

Turkish troops lost 10 thousand people due to frostbite in just one day, December 14th.

The last Turkish attempt to take Sarykamysh on December 17 was repulsed by Russian counterattacks and ended in failure. At this point, the offensive impulse of the Turkish troops, suffering from frosts and poor supplies, was exhausted.

The turning point has arrived. On the same day, the Russians launched a counteroffensive and drove the Turks back from Sarykamysh. The Turkish military leader Enver Pasha decided to intensify the frontal attack and transferred the main blow to Karaurgan, which was defended by parts of the Sarykamysh detachment of General Berkhman. But here, too, the fierce attacks of the 11th Turkish Corps, advancing on Sarykamysh from the front, were repelled.

On December 19, Russian troops advancing near Sarykamysh completely surrounded the 9th Turkish Corps, frozen by snow storms. Its remnants, after stubborn three-day battles, capitulated. Units of the 10th Corps managed to retreat, but were defeated near Ardahan.

On December 25, General N.N. Yudenich became commander of the Caucasian Army, who gave the order to launch a counteroffensive near Karaurgan. Having thrown back the remnants of the 3rd Army by 30–40 km by January 5, 1915, the Russians stopped the pursuit, which was carried out in a 20-degree cold. And there was almost no one to pursue.

Enver Pasha's troops lost 78 thousand people (over 80% of their personnel) killed, frozen, wounded and captured. Russian losses amounted to 26 thousand people (killed, wounded, frostbitten).

The victory at Sarykamysh stopped Turkish aggression in Transcaucasia and strengthened the position of the Caucasian Army.

17. Brusilovsky breakthrough (1916)

One of the most important operations on the Eastern Front in 1916 was the offensive on the Southwestern Front, designed not only to turn the tide of military operations on the Eastern Front, but also to cover the Allied offensive on the Somme. The result was the Brusilov breakthrough, which significantly undermined the military power of the Austro-Hungarian army and pushed Romania to enter the war on the side of the Entente.

The offensive operation of the Southwestern Front under the command of General Alexei Brusilov, carried out from May to September 1916, became, according to military historian Anton Kersnovsky, “a victory such as we have never won in a world war.” The number of forces that were involved on both sides is also impressive - 1,732,000 Russian soldiers and 1,061,000 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian and German armies.

18. Khalkhin-Gol operation

Since the beginning of 1939, several incidents between the Mongols and the Japanese-Manchus occurred in the area of ​​​​the border between the Mongolian People's Republic (on whose territory, in accordance with the Soviet-Mongolian protocol of 1936, Soviet troops were located) and the puppet state of Manchukuo, which was actually controlled by Japan. Mongolia, behind which stood the Soviet Union, announced the passage of the border near the small village of Nomon-Khan-Burd-Obo, and Manchukuo, behind which stood Japan, drew the border along the Khalkhin-Gol River. In May, the command of the Japanese Kwantung Army concentrated significant forces at Khalkhin Gol. The Japanese managed to achieve superiority in infantry, artillery and cavalry over the Soviet 57th separate rifle corps deployed in Mongolia. However, Soviet troops had an advantage in aviation and armored forces. Since May, the Japanese held the eastern bank of Khalkhin Gol, but in the summer they decided to cross the river and seize a bridgehead on the “Mongolian” bank.

On July 2, Japanese units crossed the “Manchurian-Mongolian” border officially recognized by Japan and tried to gain a foothold. The command of the Red Army brought into action all the forces that could be delivered to the conflict area. Soviet mechanized brigades, having made an unprecedented forced march through the desert, immediately entered the battle in the area of ​​Mount Bayin-Tsagan, in which about 400 tanks and armored vehicles, over 300 guns and several hundred aircraft took part on both sides. As a result, the Japanese lost almost all of their tanks. During the 3-day bloody battle, the Japanese were pushed back across the river. However, now Moscow was insisting on a forceful solution to the issue, especially since there was a threat of a second Japanese invasion. G.K. Zhukov was appointed commander of the rifle corps. Aviation was strengthened by pilots with experience of fighting in Spain and China. On August 20, Soviet troops went on the offensive. By the end of August 23, Japanese troops were surrounded. An attempt to release this group made by the enemy was repulsed. Those surrounded fought fiercely until August 31. The conflict led to the complete resignation of the command of the Kwantung Army and a change of government. The new government immediately asked the Soviet side for a truce, which was signed in Moscow on September 15.

19. Battle of Moscow (1941-1942)

The long and bloody defense of Moscow, which began in September 1941, moved into the offensive phase on December 5, ending on April 20, 1942. On December 5, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive and German divisions rolled west. The plan of the Soviet command - to encircle the main forces of Army Group Center east of Vyazma - could not be fully implemented. The Soviet troops lacked mobile formations, and there was no experience of a coordinated offensive of such masses of troops.

However, the result was impressive. The enemy was driven back 100–250 kilometers from Moscow, and the immediate threat to the capital, which was the most important industrial and transport hub, was eliminated. In addition, the victory near Moscow had a huge impact psychological significance. For the first time in the entire war, the enemy was defeated and retreated tens and hundreds of kilometers. German General Gunter Blumentritt recalled: “It was now important for Germany’s political leaders to understand that the days of the blitzkrieg were a thing of the past. We were confronted by an army whose fighting qualities were far superior to all other armies we had ever encountered.”

20. Battle of Stalingrad(1942-1943)

The defense of Stalingrad became one of the most fierce operations of that war. By the end of the street fighting, which lasted from August to November, Soviet troops held only three isolated bridgeheads on the right bank of the Volga; There were 500–700 people left in the divisions of the 62nd Army defending the city, but the Germans failed to throw them into the river. Meanwhile, since September, the Soviet command had been preparing an operation to encircle the German group advancing on Stalingrad.

On November 19, 1942, Soviet troops launched an offensive north of Stalingrad, and the next day - south of it. On November 23, the striking wedges of the Soviet troops met near the city of Kalach, which marked the encirclement of the enemy’s Stalingrad group. 22 enemy divisions (about 300 thousand people) were surrounded. This was the turning point of the entire war.

In December 1942, the German command tried to release the encircled group, but Soviet troops repelled this onslaught. The fighting in the Stalingrad area continued until February 2, 1943. Over 90 thousand enemy soldiers and officers (including 24 generals) surrendered.

Soviet trophies included 5,762 guns, 1,312 mortars, 12,701 machine guns, 156,987 rifles, 10,722 machine guns, 744 aircraft, 166 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 cars, 10,679 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains and other military property .

21. Battle of Kursk (1943)

The Battle of Kursk is one of the greatest in the history of the Great Patriotic War, marking a radical turning point in hostilities. After it, the strategic initiative completely passed into the hands of the Soviet command.

Building on the success achieved at Stalingrad, Soviet troops launched a large-scale offensive on the front from Voronezh to the Black Sea. At the same time, in January 1943, besieged Leningrad was released.

Only in the spring of 1943 did the Wehrmacht manage to stop the Soviet offensive in Ukraine. Although units of the Red Army occupied Kharkov and Kursk, and the advanced units of the Southwestern Front were already fighting on the outskirts of Zaporozhye, German troops, transferring reserves from other sectors of the front, pulling up troops from Western Europe, actively maneuvering mechanized formations, went on a counteroffensive and re-occupied Kharkov . As a result, the front line on the southern flank of the confrontation acquired a characteristic shape, which later became known as the Kursk Bulge.

It was here that the German command decided to inflict a decisive defeat on the Soviet troops. It was supposed to cut it off with blows at the base of the arc, encircling two Soviet fronts at once.

The German command planned to achieve success, including through the widespread use of the latest types military equipment. It was on the Kursk Bulge that heavy German Panther tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled artillery guns were first used.

The Soviet command knew about the enemy's plans and deliberately decided to cede the strategic initiative to the enemy. The idea was to wear down the Wehrmacht shock divisions in pre-prepared positions and then launch a counteroffensive. And we must admit: this plan was a success.

Yes, not everything went as planned and on the southern front of the arc German tank wedges almost broke through the defense, but on the whole the Soviet operation developed according to the original plan. One of the largest tank battles in the world took place in the area of ​​Prokhorovka station, in which over 800 tanks simultaneously took part. Although Soviet troops also suffered heavy losses in this battle, the Germans lost their offensive potential.

More than 100 thousand participants in the Battle of Kursk were awarded orders and medals, more than 180 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In honor of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, an artillery salute was fired for the first time.

22. Capture of Berlin (1945)

The assault on Berlin began on April 25, 1945 and lasted until May 2. Soviet troops had to literally chew through the enemy’s defenses - battles took place for every crossroads, for every house. The city's garrison numbered 200 thousand people, who had about 3,000 guns and about 250 tanks, so the assault on Berlin was an operation quite comparable to the defeat of the encircled German army at Stalingrad.

On May 1, the new chief of the German General Staff, General Krebs, informed Soviet representatives about Hitler's suicide and proposed a truce. However, the Soviet side demanded unconditional surrender. In this situation, the new German government set a course for achieving an early surrender to the Western allies. Since Berlin was already surrounded, on May 2 the commander of the city’s garrison, General Weindling, capitulated, but only on behalf of the Berlin garrison.

It is characteristic that some units refused to carry out this order and tried to break through to the west, but were intercepted and defeated. Meanwhile, negotiations between German and Anglo-American representatives were taking place in Reims. The German delegation insisted on the surrender of troops on the western front, hoping to continue the war in the east, but the American command demanded unconditional surrender.

Finally, on May 7, the unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, which was to occur at 23.01 on May 8. On behalf of the USSR, this act was signed by General Susloparov. However, the Soviet government considered that the surrender of Germany should, firstly, take place in Berlin, and secondly, be signed by the Soviet command.

23. Defeat of the Kwantung Army (1945)

Japan during World War II was an ally of Nazi Germany and waged a war of conquest with China, during which all known types of weapons of mass destruction were used, including biological and chemical weapons.

Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops at Far East Marshal Vasilevsky was appointed. In less than a month, Soviet troops defeated the million-strong Kwantung Army stationed in Manchuria and liberated all of Northern China and part of Central China from Japanese occupation.

The Kwantung Army was fought by a highly professional army. It was impossible to stop her. Military textbooks include the operation of Soviet troops to overcome the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Range. In just two days, the 6th Guards Tank Army crossed the mountains and found itself deep behind enemy lines. During this outstanding offensive, about 200 thousand Japanese were captured and many weapons and equipment were captured.

Through the heroic efforts of our fighters, the “Ostraya” and “Camel” heights of the Khutou fortified area were also taken. The approaches to the heights were in hard-to-reach swampy areas and were well protected by scarps and wire fences. The Japanese firing points were carved into granite rock.

The capture of the Hutou fortress cost the lives of over a thousand Soviet soldiers and officers. The Japanese did not negotiate and rejected all calls for surrender. During the 11 days of the assault, almost all of them died, only 53 people surrendered.

As a result of the war, the Soviet Union regained the territories lost to the Russian Empire in 1905 following the Peace of Portsmouth, but Japan has not yet recognized the loss of the Southern Kuril Islands. Japan capitulated, but a peace treaty with the Soviet Union was not signed.

During 1801–1881 Russian Empire fought almost continuously. Russia's wars in the 19th century were fought, as a rule, over the annexation of new territories or over the distribution of spheres of influence. The only exceptions were the Patriotic War of 1812 and partly the Crimean War.

Napoleonic Wars

In the first 15 years of the 19th century, European countries formed Anti-Napoleonic coalitions seven times, and Russia participated in four of them: the third, fourth, sixth and seventh. Participation in the War of the Third Coalition brought Russia defeat at Austerlitz, and after the War of the Fourth Coalition, Russia was forced to enter into an unfavorable alliance with Napoleon. In 1812, Napoleon, who had conquered almost all of Europe, attacked Russia along with his allies. The Russian campaign lasted only six months and ended in a crushing defeat for the French. Napoleon was forced to flee Russia and form a new army in France. The Russian Tsar, in turn, organized the Sixth Anti-Napoleonic Coalition, which destroyed Napoleonic France and returned to power the Bourbon dynasty, overthrown in 1790. As a result of the Congress of Vienna, which determined the principles of the post-war structure of Europe, Russia became one of the four guarantors of the inviolability of European borders.

Conquest of the Caucasus

Russian troops first came to the Caucasus back in the 18th century, and Russian possessions in Transcaucasia appeared in 1801. However, it is believed that the Caucasian War began only in 1817, when Ermolov became commander of the Caucasian army. At that time, there were several dozen small states in the Caucasus. Some of them were vassals of Turkey and Persia, others were completely independent. Ermolov and his successors, one by one, resubordinated the Caucasian khanates to the Russian crown. The bloodiest episode Caucasian War there was the conquest of Chechnya and part of Dagestan, which lasted about twenty years. The leader of the mountaineers, Imam Shamil, was captured in 1859. The conquest of Circassia lasted even longer: it finally became part of Russia only in 1864. Its inclusion into Russia is considered the last episode of the Caucasian War, Russia’s longest war in the 19th century. Its events were reflected in the works of Pushkin, Lermontov and Tolstoy.

Crimean War

The Crimean War lasted relatively short, but had a huge impact on the geopolitical position of Russia. In 1853, Russia began military operations against Turkey, but its creditors, England and France, unexpectedly sided with Turkey. Equipped with the latest technology, the Allied armies attacked strategically important Russian ports, and in 1855, after a grueling siege, they took Sevastopol. As a result of the Crimean War, Russia lost the right to a navy in the Black Sea. The defeat in the Crimean War pushed Russia to large-scale internal reforms.

Russo-Turkish War 1877–1878

In 1877, Russia again declared war on Turkey. The reason for this was the infringement of the rights of the Orthodox population in the European part of the empire. The Russian troops that entered the Balkans were joined by rebel units of Romanian, Bulgarian and Serbian patriots. As a result of the Russian-Turkish war, two new states appeared in the Balkans: Romania and Bulgaria, and Serbia and Montenegro turned from vassal principalities into independent monarchies. The Treaty of San Stefano, which ended the war, deprived Turkey of almost all its possessions in Europe. However, six months later, the Berlin Conference returned Albania, as well as parts of Rumelia and Macedonia, to the Ottoman Empire. Russia has regained its great power status, lost after the Crimean War.

This was Russia's last war in the 19th century. Three years after the Berlin Conference, Alexander III ascended the throne. Under him, Russia did not wage wars, although it continued to build up its military potential. In the 20th century, even greater upheavals awaited Russia.

History of Russia 19th century – video

There is this observation:
Generals are always preparing for the last war

In the 19th century there were two world wars: the Napoleonic Wars, which ended with the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Russian entry into Paris in 1814, and the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

There were also two world wars in the 20th century: the First (1911 - 1914) and the Second (1938 - 1945).

Thus, in current history we have four large-scale world wars, which are the subject of four parts of this material.

The Napoleonic Wars are one of the stages in the development of the Western project, during which the era of the “gold standard” was opened, Switzerland became eternally neutral and another attempt was made to resolve the “Russian question”. About this in our material.

THE FRENCH AS A MEANS OF DESTROYING EMPIRES

Anti-French coalitions are temporary military-political alliances of European states that sought to restore in France the monarchical Bourbon dynasty, which fell during the French Revolution of 1789-1799. A total of 7 coalitions were created. Essentially, the Napoleonic Wars are the First World War of the 19th century, which ended in Paris in 1814. Waterloo is a more internal police operation of the West against Napoleon, who has already “gained his way back.”

IN scientific literature the first two coalitions are called “anti-revolutionary”, which were the reaction of European monarchies to the changes in global politics that marked bourgeois revolution in France. However, during the actions of these supposedly “anti-revolutionary” coalitions in Europe, they disintegrated and disappeared from the political map:

• Holy Roman Empire,
• Kingdom of Prussia
• French Empire of Napoleon,
• also happened palace coup in Russia, which abruptly changed its course (it came to the Decembrists in 1825).

And the stage of spreading the ideology of liberalism at the global level began. However, starting from the third, these coalitions were called “anti-Napoleonic”. Why? Let's see further.

I anti-French coalition (1791-1797)

It included: England, Prussia, Naples, Tuscany, Austria, Spain, Holland, Russia.

In 1789, a bourgeois revolution took place in France. On July 14, the rebels noisily captured the Bastille. A bourgeois system was established in the country. In St. Petersburg, the revolution that began was initially considered an everyday rebellion caused by temporary financial difficulties and the personal qualities of King Louis XVI. With the growth of the revolution in St. Petersburg, they began to fear the spread of the revolution to all the feudal-absolutist countries of Europe. The fears of the Russian court were shared by the kings of Prussia and Austria.

In 1790, an alliance between Austria and Prussia was concluded with the aim of military intervention in the internal affairs of France, but they limited themselves to developing intervention plans and providing material assistance to the French emigration and the counter-revolutionary nobility within the country (Catherine loaned 2 million rubles to create a mercenary army).

In March 1793, a convention was signed between Russia and England on a mutual obligation to assist each other in the fight against France: to close their ports to French ships and impede French trade with neutral countries (Catherine II sent Russian warships to England to blockade the French coast).

At the end of 1795, a counter-revolutionary triple alliance was concluded between Russia, England and Austria (in Russia, preparations began for a 60,000-strong expeditionary force for action against France).

Paul I did not send the corps equipped in August 1796 to help Austria, but declared to his allies (Austria, England and Prussia) that Russia had been exhausted by previous wars. Russia left the coalition. Paul I at the diplomatic level tried to limit the military successes of France.

In 1797, Napoleon captured Malta, an island under the personal protection of Paul I, which prompted Paul to declare war. The history of the capture of Malta is very interesting in itself, so we recommend reading - https://www.proza.ru/2013/03/30/2371.

French landing on Malta

Napoleon himself later wrote in his memoirs that

“The decisive factor for the fate of the Order was that it surrendered under the protection of Emperor Paul, the enemy of France... Russia sought domination over this island, which was of such great importance due to its position, the convenience and safety of its port and the power of its fortifications. Seeking patronage in the North, the Order did not take into account and endangered the interests of the powers of the South...”

The capture of Malta was fatal for Napoleon, since it thereby involved Paul in the Napoleonic wars and predetermined Russia's participation in anti-French coalitions. But these events were also fatal for Paul, since during the Napoleonic wars he began to get closer to Napoleon, dooming himself to death.

II anti-French coalition (1798-1800)

It included: Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Naples.

The II anti-French coalition was created in 1798 consisting of Austria, the Ottoman Empire, England and the Kingdom of Naples. Russian military forces took part in military operations at sea (in alliance with the Ottoman fleet) and on land (together with Austria).

Black Sea squadron under the command of F.F. In the fall of 1798, Ushakova entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, and then into the Adriatic, where, together with the Turkish fleet, she captured the Ionian Islands and stormed the fortress of Corfu.

The capture of the Corfu fortress by a united Russian-Turkish squadron under the command of F.F. Ushakova

By the end of August 1799, as a result of Suvorov's Italian campaign of 1799 and Ushakov's Mediterranean campaign of 1799-1800, during which Russian troops liberated Naples in June 1799, and Rome in September, almost all of Italy was liberated from French troops. The remnants of the 35,000-strong French army of General Jean Moreau (about 18 thousand people) defeated at Novi retreated to Genoa, which remained the last region of Italy under French control. The offensive of the Russian-Austrian army under the command of Suvorov (about 43 thousand people) on Genoa, followed by the complete displacement of the French army from Italy, seemed to be the natural next step. The command of the combined Russian-Austrian troops was entrusted to A.V. Suvorov.

On April 15-17, 1799, Suvorov defeated the French at the Adda River. After this, in 5 weeks they managed to expel the French from Northern Italy. Milan and Turin were liberated without a fight.

The Austrians did not provide Suvorov's troops with food, provided incorrect maps of the area and, without waiting for the troops to arrive in Switzerland, left Rimsky-Korsakov's corps alone in front of superior enemy forces.

Rushing to the rescue, Suvorov chose the shortest and most dangerous route - through the Alps, the Saint Gotthard Pass (September 24, 1799 - the Battle of the Devil's Bridge).

Suvorov's crossing of the Devil's Bridge. Artist A. E. Kotzebue

But help for Rimsky-Korsakov was too late - he was defeated.

15 thousand grenadiers descend from the Alps and Pavel returns them to Russia.

England and Austria took advantage of the Russian victories. Due to the fact that England, like Austria, did not show due care for the Russian auxiliary corps located in Holland and operating against the French, and due to the fact that the British occupied after the liberation of Fr. Malta, and the Austrians occupied Northern Italy abandoned by Suvorov, Paul I breaks off relations with them and enters into new alliances.

Peace is concluded with France and an alliance is signed with Prussia against Austria and at the same time with Prussia, Sweden and Denmark against England.

On December 4-6, 1800, on the initiative of Paul I, a convention on armed neutrality was concluded between Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Denmark.

On January 12, 1801, Paul I gave an order according to which 22.5 thousand Cossacks with 24 guns under the command of Vasily Petrovich Orlov (1745-1801) - military ataman of the Don Cossack army were supposed to make an Indian campaign - reach Khiva and Bukhara and capture British India. The Cossacks set out on the campaign on February 28.

February 9 and March 11, 1801- decrees were issued prohibiting the release of Russian goods from British ports and along the entire western border, not only to England, but also to Prussia. An embargo was imposed on British merchant ships in Russian ports.

The conspirators wanted to time the denouement to coincide with March 15 - the “Ides of March”, which brought the death of the tyrant Caesar, but external events accelerated the decision, since the emperor, by the evening or night of March 8, came to the conclusion that “they wanted to repeat the year 1762.” The conspirators began to fuss.

Fonvizin in his notes describes the reaction of his subjects as follows:

“In the midst of the multitude of assembled courtiers, the conspirators and murderers of Paul walked insolently. They, who had not slept at night, half drunk, disheveled, as if proud of their crime, dreamed that they would reign with Alexander. Decent people in Russia, not approving the means by which they got rid of Paul's tyranny, rejoiced at his fall. Historiographer Karamzin says that the news of this event was a message of redemption throughout the whole state: in houses, on the streets, people cried, hugged each other, as on the day of the Holy Resurrection. However, only the nobility expressed this delight; other classes accepted this news rather indifferently».

Alexander I ascended the throne, as a result of which the general atmosphere in the country immediately changed. Nevertheless, for Alexander himself, the murder caused deep psychological trauma, which may have caused him to turn to mysticism late in life. Fonvizin describes his reaction to the news of the murder:

“When it was all over and he learned the terrible truth, his grief was inexpressible and reached the point of despair. The memory of this terrible night haunted him all his life and poisoned him with secret sadness.”

On the eve of Paul's death, Napoleon came close to concluding an alliance with Russia. The assassination of Paul I in March 1801 postponed this possibility for a long time - until the Peace of Tilsit in 1807. Relations with England, on the contrary, were renewed.

III anti-French coalition (1805)

Unlike the first two, it was exclusively defensive in nature. Its members included: Russia, England, Austria, Sweden. Russian diplomacy took part in the formation of a coalition consisting of England, Austria, Sweden and Sicily.

There were no goals of restoring the Bourbons. The coalition was created to stop the further spread of French expansion in Europe and protect the rights of Prussia, Switzerland, Holland and Italy. England was especially interested in creating a coalition, because 200,000 French soldiers stood on the banks of the English Channel, ready to land on Foggy Albion.

September 9, 1805 - The Austrian army invaded Bavaria. However, already on September 25-26, it was defeated by the French army and began to retreat, suffering heavy losses. And on October 20, the Austrian army capitulated. And on November 13, Vienna was taken.

On November 10, 1805, Russian troops united with Austrian reinforcements and occupied the Olsha positions.

On November 20, 1805, in the “Battle of the Three Emperors” - Napoleon, Alexander I and Franz II - near Austerlitz, the combined Russian-Austrian troops were defeated by the French.

Cuadro de François Gérard, 1810, neoclasicismo. Batalla de Austerlitz

On December 26, 1805, Austria signed a peace treaty with France in Presburg, emerging from the war with major territorial and political losses. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation ceased to exist.

IV anti-French coalition (1806-1807)

Its members included: Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Saxony, Sweden.

On June 19 and July 12, secret union declarations were signed between Russia and Prussia. In the autumn of 1806, a coalition was formed consisting of England, Sweden, Prussia, Saxony and Russia.

October 14, 1806 - the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, in which the Prussian army was completely defeated by the French. The army as an organized force of Prussia ceased to exist overnight. Following this the collapse of the Prussian kingdom occurred, which was conquered by the French army within three weeks.

On November 21, 1806, in Berlin, Napoleon signed a decree on the “blockade of the British Isles.” In 1807, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands joined the continental blockade, after Tilsit - Russia and Prussia, and in 1809 - Austria.

On January 26 - 27, 1807, the battle of Preussisch-Eylau took place, where an army of Russian and Prussian soldiers repulsed all French attacks.

On June 9 (21), 1807, a truce was signed and 2 days later it was ratified by Alexander I. On June 13 (25), the two emperors met on a raft in the middle of the Neman River opposite the city of Tilsit.

Meeting of Alexander I and Napoleon on the Neman. Engraving by Lamo and Misbach. 1st quarter 19th century

V anti-French coalition (1809)

The anti-French coalition emerged after the destruction of Napoleon's Grand Army in Russia during the Russian Campaign of 1812.

The coalition included: Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia (the last two were allies of France until the beginning of 1813).

April 5, 1812 The St. Petersburg Union Treaty was concluded between Russia and Sweden. After the start of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, on July 6 (18), 1812, the Peace of Orebro was signed between Russia and Great Britain, eliminating the state of war between the two powers that had existed since 1807. On December 18 (30), 1812 in Taurogen, the Prussian General York signed a neutrality convention with the Russians and withdrew troops to Prussia.

FIRST PATRIOTIC WAR

Russia's participation in the continental blockade, established by Napoleon by a special decree of November 21, 1806 and directed against England, had a detrimental effect on the Russian economy. In particular, the volume of Russian foreign trade between 1808 and 1812 decreased by 43%. And France, Russia's new ally under the Treaty of Tilsit, could not compensate for this damage, since Russia's economic ties with France were insignificant.

The continental blockade completely upset Russian finances. Already in 1809, the budget deficit increased 12.9 times compared to 1801 (from 12.2 million to 157.5 million rubles).

Therefore, the reasons for the Patriotic War of 1812 were Russia’s refusal to actively support the continental blockade, in which Napoleon saw the main weapon against Great Britain, as well as Napoleon’s policy towards European states, carried out without taking into account the interests of Russia, or rather, how Alexander, who ascended the throne, saw them I.

No matter what some historians say about Napoleon’s aggression in 1812, on the eve of the war Russia itself was preparing for an attack. And Alexander I, back in the fall of 1811, offered Prussia to “slay the monster” preemptive strike. The Russian army even began to prepare for the next campaign against Napoleon, and only the treachery of Prussia prevented Alexander from starting the war first - Napoleon was ahead of him.

The Russian monarch did not favor Napoleon. For Alexander, the war with him was

“...an act of struggle of his personal pride, regardless of the political reasons that caused it,” writes historian M.V. Dovnar-Zapolski. — Despite the appearance of friendly relations, the “Byzantine Greek,” as Napoleon characterized his Tilsit friend, could never bear the humiliation he experienced. Alexander never forgot anything and never forgave anything, although he was remarkably good at hiding his true feelings. Moreover, Alexander, like his opponent, loved to indulge in dreams of activities that would pursue world interests. It is not surprising that the war acquired a double meaning in the eyes of Alexander: firstly, a sense of pride prompted him to take revenge on his rival, and ambitious dreams took Alexander far beyond the borders of Russia, and the good of Europe took first place in them. Despite the failures - and even moreover, as the failures grew, Alexander became more determined to continue the war until the enemy was completely destroyed. The very first significant failures exacerbated Alexander’s sense of revenge.”

Paul I, in our opinion, would have conducted his policy differently and, most likely, would have supported the blockade of Great Britain and then, most likely, there would have been no Patriotic War of 1812, and Great Britain could have joined the number of empires that disappeared during the Napoleonic Wars. It is clear that this development of events did not suit some groups in the West (it is clear that most of them were in Great Britain), so the English ambassador was an accomplice in the conspiracy against Paul I.

It must be said that British intelligence acted farsightedly. Delayed the fall of colonial Britain by almost a hundred years! The story eventually followed the course of events in which Napoleon invades Russia.

June 22 - 24, 1812. Troops of Napoleon's Grand Army cross the Neman, invading Russian territory

According to the calculations of the military historian Clausewitz, the army of the invasion of Russia, together with reinforcements during the war, numbered 610 thousand soldiers, including 50 thousand soldiers from Austria and Prussia. That is, we can talk about a united European army. With the support, or at least non-interference, of the rest of Europe, until March 1813.

On January 18 (30), 1813, a treaty similar to the Taurogen Treaty was signed by the commander of the Austrian corps, General Schwarzenberg (Seichen Truce), after which he surrendered Warsaw without a fight and went to Austria.

The official act that formalized the 6th coalition was the Kalisz Union Treaty between Russia and Prussia, signed on February 15 (27), 1813 in Breslau and February 16 (28), 1813 in Kalisz.

At the beginning of 1813, only Russia waged the war against Napoleon in central Europe.. Prussia entered the coalition with Russia in March 1813, then in the summer of the same year England, Austria and Sweden joined, and after the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig in October 1813, the German states of Württemberg and Bavaria joined the coalition. Doesn't remind you of anything, does it?

Spain, Portugal and England fought independently with Napoleon on the Iberian Peninsula. Active hostilities lasted for a year from May 1813 to April 1814, with a 2-month truce in the summer of 1813.

In 1813, the war against Napoleon was fought with varying success in Germany, mainly in Prussia and Saxony. In 1814, the fighting moved to French territory and ended by April 1814 with the capture of Paris and Napoleon's abdication of power.

Treaty of Paris 1814- a peace treaty between the participants of the sixth anti-French coalition (Russia, Great Britain, Austria and Prussia), on the one hand, and Louis XVIII, on the other. Signed in Paris on May 30 (May 18, old style). Sweden, Spain and Portugal later joined the treaty. The treaty provided for France to retain the borders that existed on January 1, 1792, with the addition of only part of the Duchy of Savoy, the former papal possessions of Avignon and Venescens, and small strips of land on the northern and eastern borders that previously belonged to the Austrian Netherlands and various German states (including purely the German town of Saarbrücken with rich coal mines), only about 5 thousand km² and more than one million inhabitants.

France returned most of the colonial possessions it had lost during the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden and Portugal returned to France all the colonies taken from it; England retained only Tobago and St. Lucia in the West Indies and the island of St. Mauritius in Africa, but returned the island of Haiti to Spain. France was given the option of keeping all the art objects it had seized, with the exception of trophies taken from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the thefts made from the Vienna library. She was not obliged to pay the indemnity.

The Netherlands regained independence and was returned to the House of Orange. Switzerland was declared independent. Italy, with the exception of the Austrian provinces, was to consist of independent states. The German principalities united into a union. Freedom of navigation on the Rhine and Scheldt was declared. France, by special agreement with England, pledged to abolish the slave trade in its colonies. Finally, it was decided that representatives of all the powers that took part in the war would gather, within two months, for a congress in Vienna to resolve still unclear issues.

As for the war with Russia, which became inevitable, after losing it, Napoleon spoke like this:

“I did not want this famous war, this bold enterprise, I had no desire to fight. Alexander didn’t have such a desire either, but the prevailing circumstances pushed us towards each other: fate did the rest.”

But did “rock” do it?

THE ROLE OF FREEMASONRY IN THE RISE AND FALL OF NAPOLEON

Once upon a time, the arbitrariness of would-be revolutionaries brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power. Why? Yes, because the Freemasons, who saw that the revolution was not going at all where they wanted, needed a strong hand to suppress the raging revolutionary fanatics and extremists. The famous Austrian statesman and diplomat Prince Clemens von Metternich remarked on this matter:

“Napoleon, who was himself a Freemason when he was a young officer, was allowed and even supported by this secret force in order to protect himself from a great evil, namely, from the return of the Bourbons.”

On top of that, Masons considered Napoleon an effective weapon for the destruction of European monarchies, and after such a gigantic purge they hoped that it would be easier for them to carry out their plan for building a world republic.

“Freemasonry itself decided to follow Napoleon, and therefore on the day of the 18th Brumaire the most influential revolutionaries helped him,” believes the author of the book “The Secret Power of Freemasonry” A.A. Selyaninov explains: “They thought that Napoleon would rule France by proxy.”

Napoleon with a Masonically hidden hand

But Napoleon, nominated by the Freemasons, gradually began to crush Freemasonry under himself. First he became consul, then first consul, then consul for life, and then emperor. Finally, the moment came when it became clear to everyone that the interests of Napoleon, who used the Freemasons for his rise, and the Freemasons who placed their trust in him high hopes, separated.

The revolutionary dictator turned into an autocratic despot, and the Freemasons changed their attitude towards him.

"The secret societies turned sharply against him when he discovered a desire to restore to his own interests a staunch, conservative autocracy,"

- Montaigne de Poncins testified. By the winter of 1812, it became abundantly clear that Napoleon had lost the campaign utterly.

On October 23, 1812, a rather strange coup attempt took place in Paris, organized by General Malet. Of course, the conspirators were arrested and shot, but the behavior of the capital’s authorities that day turned out to be extremely passive. Moreover, it seems that the news inspired by the conspirators that Napoleon died in Russia made many very happy.

In 1813, a series of defeats that began in Russia followed, and in January 1814, the allied armies crossed the Rhine and entered French territory. Louis d'Estampes and Claudio Jeannet in their book "Freemasonry and the Revolution" write about this:

“From February 1814, realizing that it was impossible to resist the royalist tendencies, the strength of which was growing every day, Freemasonry decided that it was necessary to abandon Napoleon and begin to curry favor with the new regime in order to save at least what was left of the revolution.”

On March 31, 1814, Paris capitulated. When allied forces entered France, the Parisian Masons decided to open the doors to their brothers - Masonic officers of hostile armies.

And already on May 4, 1814, a banquet was held dedicated to the restoration of the Bourbons. The further events of Napoleon’s “hundred days” and the Battle of Waterloo are essentially a police operation of the West, and not a continuation of the Napoleonic Wars, which by that time had solved some European problems without, however, solving the “Russian question”.

THE EMERGENCE OF SWITZERLAND AS A GLOBAL MANAGERIAL “TRIGON”

The cantons located in the valleys of Schwyz (from where the name of the country originated), Uri and Unterwalden, dissatisfied with the Habsburg policy of abolishing communal privileges, began to fight. Having managed to come to an agreement with the Holy Roman Empire, first Uri in 1231, and then Schwyz in 1240, received the rights of imperial territories and were freed from the claims of petty feudal lords.

The founding year of Switzerland is considered to be 1291, when the inhabitants of three Alpine valleys entered into an agreement on mutual support in case of attack.

A decade and a half later, the Reformation began in Switzerland. There is a spread of Protestant ideas in Zurich and Geneva and a split in Switzerland into two hostile religious camps. Two interfaith wars end in the defeat of the Protestant cantons. Strengthening the regime of dominance of the city nobility (patricians). For the next three centuries, the confrontation between Catholics and Protestants continued, repeatedly resulting in bloody wars.

Although, at the same time, the time from 1415 to 1513 is called the “heroic age” of Swiss history. The Confederation fought successful wars against the Habsburgs, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dukes of Milan, Savoy, and Burgundy. Thanks to these victories, the Swiss gained a reputation as excellent warriors, and the confederation expanded to 13 cantons.

In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was signed, in which there is a separate “Swiss Article”, which means the completion of a long process that began in 1499 (when, during the “Swabian War” with the Great Roman Empire of the German nation, the actual independence of Switzerland from the empire was established), in as a result of which Switzerland becomes independent not only in fact, but also formally and legally.

To govern the confederation, all-Union diets were periodically convened, while Switzerland did not have a common army, government or finance. This management system lasted until the French Revolution (1798).

From 1798 until Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Switzerland was under French rule. Having occupied Switzerland, France imposed a constitution copied from the French one. But it attacked traditional federalism, and many Swiss did not support it. Having come to power, Napoleon gave the country a new Constitution in 1802, restoring many of the rights of the cantons and expanding their number from 13 to 19. After Napoleon's defeat, the cantons renounced his constitution and made attempts to recreate the previous confederation, but the country had already lived for some time under the federal government, what affected future history Switzerland.

It was in 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon, that the Treaty of Union was signed in Switzerland, proclaiming the union of 22 cantons. It was then that the great powers recognized perpetual neutrality of Switzerland, which was secured by the Congress of Vienna and the Paris Peace Treaty.

In subsequent years, there was a struggle between the patrician power of individual cantons and supporters of the transformation of Switzerland into an integral state on democratic principles, which ended in 1848 with the victory of the latter (just 5 years before the Crimean War!). A constitution was adopted and a federal parliament was created, and from then on a period of quiet development of the Swiss Confederation began.

The territorial structure of Switzerland as a federal republic currently includes 26 cantons (20 cantons and 6 half-cantons). The cantons (German Kantone, French cantons, Italian cantoni, Roman chantuns) are the largest state-territorial units of the Swiss Confederation. The lowest level of territorial-administrative division is communities (German: Gemeinde), of which there were 2,495 as of January 2012 (in 2011 - 2,495 communities)

Each canton has its own constitution and laws, the legislative body is the cantonal council (kantonsrat), or great council, executive body — ruling council(regierungsrat), or state council, consisting of the governor (landammann), or chairman of the state council, and government councilors (regierungsrat), or state councilors. Canton is completely independent in its decision internal problems. The central government is in charge of international affairs, the federal budget and the issue of money. However, Switzerland is a single state. Country motto: " One for all and all for one!"(Latin: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno).

Gold standard

The beginning of the era of the “gold standard” (legislative formalization of guaranteed gold backing of state credit notes) is considered to be the period after the Napoleonic wars: 1816 - 1821 (“Gold”, A.V. Anikin, ed. 1988).

Gold standard- a system of monetary relations in which each country expressed the value of its currency in a certain amount of gold, and central banks or governments were obliged to buy and sell gold at a fixed price.

England applied this principle since 1816, the USA - since 1837, Germany - since 1875, but the first country to legislate the gold standard was Napoleonic France, which chose the bimetallic gold-silver system in 1803. The gold standard of the Napoleondor coin (issued from 1803 to 1914) was introduced by Napoleon I, who abolished the previous louis d'or-based coinage and set the standard for the gold content of the franc at 0.2903 g (the so-called "germinal franc"). The coin received its name from the profile of Napoleon Bonaparte originally depicted on it.

But still, the main development of the world gold standard system took place in England.

England's gold standard

The history of gold money in England from the discovery of America to the end of the 17th century will not take up much space. This was the era of quasi-bimetallism, when both gold and silver coins were constantly minted and had equal legal rights as money. In general, during these two centuries the exchange rate was favorable for silver. Therefore, silver money predominated in circulation.

In the first three quarters of the 18th century. the coin coefficient was favorable for gold and unfavorable for silver, thereby promoting the entry of the yellow metal into England and the displacement of the white metal.

In 1797, English paper money consisted of notes issued by the Bank of England and circulated primarily in and around London, and notes from “provincial” banks circulated primarily near the place of issue. Banknotes were subject to exchange for specie upon demand, but were not a legal means of payment.

There were no restrictions on English banks receiving deposits and circulating them in the form of bank checks; in the second half of the 18th century. - early 19th century the use of such deposit currency was constantly expanding.

From 1797 to 1821, England had a de facto paper monetary standard, although a law was passed in 1816 that switched it to a pure gold standard 5 years later.

Early in 1819, both houses of Parliament appointed secret committees to consider the issue of resuming the exchange. Both committees ultimately adopted a recommendation that the Bank of England be required to resume, from 1 February 1820, the exchange of notes for gold in accordance with a special scale of depreciation of gold prices, with the resumption of full payment in cash no later than 1 May 1823. This system of gradual return to the free exchange of banknotes for gold through a gradual change in the exchange rate was never put into practice. Even before February 1820, the premium on gold disappeared, and on May 1, 1821, payments in specie at par were fully resumed.

Thus, after a paper money standard of about a quarter of a century, England returned to the metal standard, but now it was the gold standard rather than the bimetallic standard, which had been abolished in 1797.

Based on the laws of 1816 and 1817, the English gold standard, after returning to specie payments in 1821, functioned until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

The gold standard was formalized at a conference in Paris in 1821. The basis is gold, which was legally assigned the role of the main form of money. The exchange rate of national currencies was strictly tied to gold and, through the gold content of the currency, related to each other at a fixed rate.

Pushkin's interest

Of course, one can consider it an accident that this period coincided with the time of the creation of “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. But accidents that reflect certain patterns are essentially statistical predeterminations. If we take into account that the Napoleonic wars were financed by the Rothschild clan, then we can only admit that Pushkin, at the age of twenty, saw and understood the general course of things better than the Russian Decembrist Freemasons, brought up on the economic thought of the West. A.V. Anikin (real name - Yevreisky), the author of the above-mentioned monograph on the role of gold in the financial and credit system, was so concerned about Pushkin’s knowledge of Chernomor’s beard that he published a special book “Muse and Mammon. Socio-economic motives in Pushkin,” ed. 1989. From it we learn that the Jewish Anika warrior was most concerned about Pushkin’s early interest in the behind-the-scenes activities of the Rothschild banking house. On the other hand, thanks to the information of Anikin, an authoritative specialist in Jewish financial circles, the reader had the opportunity to get acquainted with the rationale for the historical pattern of the birth of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.

ROTHSCHILDS AND NAPOLEONIC WARS

Rothschild brothers

The Frankfurt banker Mayer-Amschel, who became the founder of this dynasty, died on September 19, 1812. Five of his sons continued the business - Amschel Mayer (1773-1855), Solomon Mayer (1774-1855), Nathan Mayer (1777-1836), Kalmann Mayer (1788-1855) and James Mayer (1792-1868).

They became known as the “Five Fingers of One Hand.” Amschel conducted all business in Frankfurt. Nathan, who emigrated to Manchester, as already mentioned, became the founder of a British bank. Solomon founded the Austrian bank, Kalmann the Neapolitan bank, and James the French bank. And this is exactly how the gigantic fortune of the Rothschild family, who had a direct connection with the union of “free masons,” arose. James Rothschild quickly became one of the richest men in France, and his brother Nathan Rothschild achieved enormous success in the gold bullion trade and became the most sought-after moneylender in London.

Even when Napoleon was victoriously walking through Europe, and the Rothschilds were profiting from military orders, he suddenly refused to the Rothschild clan to join their financial empire to his. Moreover, in February 1800 he created the Bank of France, independent of the Rothschilds. And in April 1803, he carried out a monetary reform, introducing silver and gold francs, and the Bank of France received the exclusive right to issue money.

The Rothschilds were outraged, but Napoleon said:

“The hand that gives is always higher than the hand that takes. Financiers have no patriotism and honesty - their only goal is profit."

If the government depends on the bankers, then the country is run not by the government, but by the bankers.

But Napoleon needed money, and therefore in the same 1803 he sold French territories in North America to the United States. Their size was then approximately 2.1 million square meters. km, and the transaction price is 15 million dollars, or 80 million French francs. In carrying out this transaction, Napoleon used the banks of the Rothschilds' direct competitors - the Baring banking house in London and the Hope Bank in Amsterdam. With the help of the money he received, he quickly equipped an army and began to spread his influence throughout Europe, capturing everything in his path.

Operation Gold

The Rothschild clan could not forgive Napoleon, who soon became emperor, for such arbitrariness. And they declared war on the impostor, that is, they began to provide loans to almost any country that was in the camp of his opponents. In fact, the Rothschild clan decided to overthrow Napoleon, for which it began to actively finance the British and Russians, that is, his main opponents. Napoleon did not want to fight with Russia, but he was forced to do so, and this could not have happened without the hand of the Rothschilds.

When in 1812 the main body of Napoleon's army was already in Russia, Nathan Rothschild came up with a brilliant plan to finance the “second front”, that is, the actions of the Duke of Wellington’s army on the Iberian Peninsula. To do this, Nathan Rothschild bought 800 thousand pounds (those pounds!) of gold from the East India Company, and then sold this gold, so necessary for Wellington to conduct military operations, to the English government. Naturally, he did this with huge profits. However, the British did not know how to transfer this gold to Wellington through French territory. And then the Rothschilds themselves took on this risky business.

The essence of the operation they carried out is as follows: first, James Rothschild unexpectedly appeared in Paris, and then his brothers wrote him letters containing feigned complaints that they were going to take gold from England to Spain, but the English government allegedly flatly refused them this. At the same time, the Rothschilds made sure that their messages to their brother would definitely fall into the hands of the French secret police. And the French Ministry of Finance took the bait. If the English enemies are against gold leaving England, the French ministry decided that these same Rothschilds must be helped so that they can still take out this gold of theirs...

Thus, the trick with the letters was a success, and Napoleon's government helped the Rothschilds to ensure that the gold eventually ended up in Spain, where it entered Wellington's army, which fought against the French.

Later, at a business dinner in London, Nathan Rothschild boasted that it was the best deal of his life.

It is worth noting that the Rothschilds also made good money from the continental blockade of England. At that time, Europe could only obtain British colonial goods (spices, cotton, tobacco, coffee, etc.) by smuggling. So, Nathan Rothschild created a reliable network of smugglers who passed through any Napoleonic cordons. And, of course, the prices for these goods were fantastic.

Nathan Rothschild

It is also believed that Nathan Rothschild personally organized the collapse of the London Stock Exchange after Wellington's victory at Waterloo. And it's called his "best deal." However, this is only very far from what actually happened. Although the Rothschilds themselves at some point believed in this myth, which indicates the reliability of the moral and psychological qualities of Nathan from the myth and Nathan in life.

The Myth of the “Best Deal”

It told about the Battle of Waterloo, which was allegedly witnessed by Nathan Rothschild. By the evening of June 18, 1815, the founder of the London branch of the Rothschild banking empire realized that the French had lost the battle. On fast horses, he reached the Belgian coast with great speed for those times. Nathan urgently needed to cross to the British Isles, but due to a storm at sea, all the ships were in ports.

The sea storm still did not stop the enterprising financier. He paid one of the fishermen such a fare that he decided to take a risk and went out to sea.

Nathan Rothschild's idea was simple and effective. He was in a hurry to take advantage of what was highly valued in the financial world even then, two centuries ago - important information. Taking advantage of the fact that no one on the London Stock Exchange but himself knew about Wellington's victory, he bought a huge number of shares and then sold them at a higher price, earning 20 million francs in a matter of hours.

This story has been included in numerous biographies of the House of Rothschild. It was composed by Georges Darnavell, who held left-wing political views. He, moreover, did not hide his hatred of Jews in general and especially the Rothschilds, who by 1846 were already one of the richest and famous people in Europe.

Supporters of Georges Darnavell's version proved it with the help of an article in the London Courier for June 20, 1815. The note, published two days after the battle and the day before the official announcement of victory, said that Rothschild had bought up a lot of shares.

At first glance, the article proves the version of enrichment and confirms the legend, but it turned out that it did not happen. A check of the archives that contain the London Courier for June 15, 1815 shows that there is no article about Rothschild purchasing a large number of shares. It was even possible to establish the source of origin of this misinformation. It appeared in 1848 in the writings of the Scottish historian Archibald Alison. In addition, supporters of the story of the “greedy villain” Rothschild cite the diary of a young American, James Gallatin, who visited London in 1815, but in 1957 it turned out that it was a fake.

One of the Rothschilds was the first to refute the fable composed by Georges Darnavell, already in the eighties of the last century. Baron Victor Rothschild, who wrote a book about the ancestor Nathan, established that Darnawell's "Satan" was at the heart of the whole story, and exposed many of the fables contained in it.

On the other hand, Victor Rothschild found in the archive a letter from an employee of one of the Parisian banks, written a month after Waterloo. It contained the following phrase:

“Commissioner White tells me that you made excellent use of the information you received about the victory at Waterloo.”

However, three decades later there appeared new information, which also refutes this evidence of Nathan Rothschild’s “guilt”. It has now been proven that it was not Nathan, but a certain “Mr. S. from Dover” who first learned the news of the victory at Waterloo. He learned about the defeat of the French in Ghent and immediately rushed to London with the news. Mr. S. spoke of the victory in the City on the morning of June 21, 1815, i.e. at least 12 hours before the official announcement of the news. At least three London newspapers wrote about it that day.

It is also known that in the evening Nathan Rothschild received a letter from Ghent reporting the victory at Waterloo and that he hastened to convey this news to the authorities.

Although Rothschild was not the only one who learned about Napoleon's defeat earlier than others, he had enough time to buy shares. However, the amount of profit is clearly very overestimated. However, in general, this story shows the attitude of the Rothschilds to the opportunities to profit from the war (read the details of this story here - http://expert.ru/2015/05/4/kapital-rotshildov/).

A century later, the name of Nathan Rothschild was inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most brilliant financier of all time and a representative of a family that by the middle of the 19th century became the richest in the world. It is not for nothing that the rest of the 19th century is called the “century of the Rothschilds.”

Naturally, they were closely connected with the Freemasons. Moreover, it can be argued that the Masonic lodges, receiving the funding they needed, were complicit with the Rothschilds, but it cannot be said that these were all Masonic lodges.

It is even believed that Robespierre himself was a blind instrument in the hands of Mayer-Amschel Rothschild. No wonder the Incorruptible said:

“It seems to me that we are constantly being pushed by a “hidden hand” against our will. Every day our Committee of Public Safety does what yesterday it decided not to do.”

Robespierre was deprived of his life also because he dared to express his indignation: the foreigners, represented by Adam Weishaupt and other Rothschild agents, turned into real rulers!

Napoleon also did not want to serve secret lodges and foreign billionaires. I paid for this. He died on May 5, 1821 in exile, on a distant island, lost in Atlantic Ocean. And his fall, which began in 1812 in Russia, without a doubt, became a real triumph of the Rothschild clan, which is only one of the strands of Chernomor’s huge beard.

CHERNOMORA'S BEARD

The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was written by Pushkin from 1818 to 1820, when the gold standard had already appeared in Europe.

Chernomor's beard is the first holistic allegorical representation financial and credit system in literature. I.V. Goethe, a contemporary of Pushkin, would touch upon this topic ten years later, in the second part of Faust. An eighty-year-old man, coming from a wealthy merchant family, he was concerned about the decline in public confidence in the new means of payment for that time - paper money. Therefore, his Mephistopheles, while explaining to “those of little faith” the benefits of a new form of money for society as a whole, simultaneously worked for the global Rothschild international.

“With tickets you are always light,
They are more convenient than money in your wallet,
They relieve you of your luggage
When buying valuables and selling them.
You will need gold, metal
I have the money changer in stock,
If they don’t have it, we’re digging up the ground.
And we cover the entire paper issue,
We are selling the find at auction
And we repay the loan in full.
Again we shame the man of little faith,
Everyone glorifies our measure in chorus,
And with gold coinage on a par
The paper is strengthening in the country.”

However, spells alone, even in a highly artistic form, were apparently not enough to restore confidence in the means of payment, and in 1867 the world leaders made special agreements in Paris (on international exhibition) about the introduction of the “gold standard” make the first attempt to stop the growth of the “beard” of the world spider.

With the beginning of the First World War (if we count from the Napoleonic wars, then the third, since the battles of the “Crimean War” took place in the Baltic, the White Sea and Kamchatka, which means it can be considered the second), these agreements lost force, and until 1944 Chernomor's beard, one might say, grew uncontrollably.

In 1944, a second attempt was made to introduce the “gold standard” in the United States at Bretton Woods. The Soviet Union also took part in the development of the Bretton Woods agreements as part of delegations from 44 countries. Stalin, who by the end of the war had risen to the level of conceptual confrontation with the Western leaders of global politics, understood that the charter of the International Monetary Fund, developed within the framework of these agreements, was just an attempt to take control of the growth of Chernomor’s beard, thanks to which it would be possible to strangle in a “civilized” way all the "beauties of the world". Not wanting to replenish the gallows gallery with the peoples of the USSR, Stalin refused to ratify the Bretton Woods agreements in 1945 and for some time closed the path to the expansion of generalized fourth-priority weapons (world money) into the USSR for the hunchbacked dwarf.

RESULTS OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

We consider it important to note that the Napoleonic Wars solved many problems at the level of global politics:

• The ideological monopoly of the Holy Roman Empire, like itself, was finally crushed, which opened up opportunities for the Reformation and the spread of liberalism throughout Europe.
• The Kingdom of Prussia was destroyed and the conditions were created for the “smoldering” of Germany’s hot spot in Europe (in fact, the foundations were laid in the form of German territorial claims for the First World War of the 20th century, although before that the situation should have still matured).
• Switzerland has finally emerged as an “incubator” and “testing ground” for testing various management technologies, a status it still retains today, given the peculiarity that each canton has its own constitution, laws, legislature and government.
• The West was unable to solve the “Russian question” by sending Napoleon, whom it created, to the east, what a Victory in Patriotic War caused an upsurge of the Russian spirit.
  Tarle E.V. in his book “Napoleon's Invasion, 1959, p. 737. said “without the twelfth year there would have been no Pushkin.” All Russian culture, national identity received a powerful impetus in the year of the Napoleonic invasion. And according to A.I. Herzen, from the point of view of the creative activity of broad layers of society, “the true history of Russia is revealed only in 1812; everything that came before was just a preface.”
• But the year 1812 is also associated with the “desire for free-thinking,” which ultimately led to the Decembrist uprising in 1825, of which more than half of those involved in this case were members of Masonic lodges and worked under the leadership of foreign senior Masonic hierarchs for implementation in Russia "ideals" of the Western project. Infection with their “fashionable disease” could well have occurred during the campaign against Paris (although it happened earlier - for Europeans, Russia was “opened” by Peter I). The unjustifiably bloody experience of the French Revolution and the counter-revolutionary uprising in the Vendée, which devoured both their own and other people’s children, taught them nothing. A.A. Bestuzhev enthusiastically wrote to Nicholas I from the Peter and Paul Fortress: “...Napoleon invaded Russia, and then the Russian people first felt their strength; It was then that a sense of independence, first political, and subsequently popular, awoke in all hearts. This is the beginning of free thought in Russia.”

We have been disentangling the results of the spread of this “free-thinking”, not free from Masonic rituals and vows, for more than two centuries.

One of the next attempts to solve the “Russian question” on a local scale was the Crimean War, which we will talk about in the second part of this material.