Leaving Moscow, the Russian army along the Ryazan road reached the Moskva River, crossed to its right bank and, turning sharply to the west, moved along the Pakhra River to Podolsk and further to the old Kaluga road. No one in the army, except for corps commanders, knew the direction of movement.
A Cossack detachment was left on the Ryazan road. He was pursued by the French cavalry corps. For several days the French thought they were pursuing Kutuzov's main forces. Kutuzov, on the other hand, transferred his army to Krasnaya Pakhra, and then to the village of Tarutino across the Nara River and fortified well there.
So he performed his ingenious Tarutinsky march-maneuver. Look at the map: the Russian army, breaking away from the enemy and making a sharp turn, literally hung over his communications (means of communication), threatening to strike at the flank or rear. The Russian army covered the southern provinces with their stocks of bread and fodder and with the Tula arms factory.
Portrait of D. V. Davydov. Engraving from 1814
Moscow was surrounded by a ring of partisan detachments allocated by Kutuzov from the army. Together with them, many peasant partisan detachments acted. A "small war" unfolded.
The first who turned to Kutuzov with a request to send him behind enemy lines with a small party was lieutenant colonel of the hussar regiment, the poet Denis Vasilyevich Davydov. Initially, he received 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks. Partisan life began: the detachment spent all day on. on horseback he roamed the surrounding roads, ran into enemy foragers, transports with food and weapons, beat off prisoners. Davydov took some of the released prisoners to his detachment. Many of Davydov's plans were carried out successfully thanks to the help of the peasants. They notified the partisans in time about the appearance of the enemy and their numbers, and supplied the detachment with food. Davydov, in turn, passed on his military knowledge and experience to the peasants. He wrote instructions for the peasants on how to act when the French approached, how to contact the military detachments of the Russian army. Denis Davydov willingly shared with the peasants and captured weapons.
The commander of the partisan detachment, Alexander Samoilovich Figner, always took on the most dangerous assignments. Knowing French, Italian and German very well, Figner, in the uniform of a Napoleonic officer, penetrated the location of enemy troops, spoke with soldiers and officers and received important information. Once he changed into a peasant dress and entered Moscow. He wanted to kill Napoleon, but he did not manage to get into the Kremlin.
The position of the conquerors in Moscow became more and more difficult. “During the six-week rest of the Main Army at Tarutino, my partisans instilled fear and horror in the enemy, taking away all means of food; already near Moscow, the enemy was supposed to eat horse meat, ”wrote Kutuzov. On the day the French entered Moscow, fires broke out in the city. Almost all of Moscow burned down. A participant in the campaign, the famous French writer Stendhal, said: “The sight of this lovely city ... turned into black and stinking ruins ... brought me special sadness ...” Napoleonic soldiers began to rob on the very first day of their stay in Moscow. The military camp became like a fair: there was a brisk trade in loot. Discipline has fallen. The army turned into an unbridled crowd of marauders.
The flight of the French cavalry, who ate their horses in Russia. Caricature by I. Terebenev. 1813
Napoleon understood the precarious position he was in. His power in the conquered countries rested on the bayonets of soldiers and continuous victories. But now he was far from Central Europe, the army was decaying, and there was nothing to think about victory. Napoleon sent letters and ambassadors to Alexander I and Kutuzov with an offer of peace. There was no answer. Then Napoleon decided to leave Moscow. But by this time, the Russian army was already ready to wrest the initiative from the enemy and go on the counteroffensive. Before leaving, Napoleon ordered to blow up the Kremlin and other ancient monuments of Russian culture that had survived the fire. Fortunately, the invaders managed to carry out this atrocity only partially.
Napoleon led his army from Moscow towards Kaluga, where large food supplies were concentrated and from where it was possible to move west along roads not devastated by the war. The commander of the partisan detachment, Seslavin, informed Kutuzov that Napoleon had left Moscow. Kutuzov decided to detain the enemy army on the way to Kaluga, near Maloyaroslavets. The battle began at dawn on 12 October. Napoleon threw eight times
his troops to Maloyaroslavets, the city changed hands eight times. Finally, the city (or rather, its ruins) was captured by the French. But on the way to the south, a powerful Russian army stood unshakably. And Napoleon ordered to retreat. His army was forced to move along the Smolensk road, ravaged to the ground. However, the French army was still a formidable force. It replenished and numbered about 100 thousand people. Kutuzov faced a difficult task: to destroy the invaders, but in such a way as to shed the blood of his people as little as possible.
Napoleon strove for Smolensk. The Russian army, not lagging behind, pursued the enemy. The main forces moved along a parallel road on the left side. This provided a connection with the grain-growing provinces, and, in addition, as Kutuzov explained, "the enemy, seeing me walking next to him, will not dare to stop, fearing that I will not bypass him." But Kutuzov did not just move alongside the enemy army. Light troops attacked enemy detachments, smashed them, captured guns, carts, banners. The partisans acted boldly.
To Smolensk, the army of invaders was reduced by half. Napoleon hoped in Smolensk to give rest to the army, to pull up reserves. But there was less food here than they thought. What was immediately plundered by crowds of soldiers who were the first to enter the city. I had to keep going. The Russian army continuously attacked the enemy. The battles near Krasnoe were especially glorious for the Russian army. In three days, the enemy lost about 26 thousand prisoners here and lost almost all of his artillery and cavalry. Attacked by Russian units, the enemy fought not for life, but for death.
The partisans exterminated the manpower of the enemy, protected the population from robbery, and freed the prisoners. 4 The cudgel of the people's war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength ... rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion died ”(L. N. Tolstoy).
The defeat of the enemy at the crossing of the Berezina was completed. Here Kutuzov wanted to surround and capture Napoleon. Only the mistakes of Admiral Chichagov and General Wittgenstein saved the remnants of the French army from captivity. About 10 thousand hungry, sick and frostbitten people crossed the Berezina.
The Patriotic War is over. “Brave and victorious troops! - Kutuzov turned to the soldiers. - At last you are on the borders of the empire. Each of you is the savior of the fatherland. Russia greets you with this name.”
Decembrists about the war of 1812
Borodino. Tarutino. Red... Glorious milestones of the Patriotic War. The exploits of the heroes of 1812, the future Decembrists, are associated with them. Wounds of honor, golden swords "For Courage", St. George's crosses ... Pavel Pestel, Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, Sergei Volkonsky, Mikhail Fonvizin. A lot others.
And the "younger" Decembrists? Did the Patriotic War pass them by?
“The storm of 1812 was being prepared. These events had a strong impact on our childhood ... ”These are the words of Ivan Pushchin, a lyceum comrade of Pushkin and Kuchelbeker, a peer of Kondraty Ryleev.
Subsequently, in the casemates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in Siberian exile, the Decembrists think a lot about 1812, about the attitude of the people to the Patriotic War, about its role in the war. victory over the invaders.
“In 1812, incredible efforts were needed; the people happily sacrificed everything for the salvation of the fatherland,” wrote Pyotr Kakhovsky.
But the people not only sacrifice everything, they are not passive: when the enemy appeared, the villages rose voluntarily, and the peasants everywhere waged a guerrilla war, fought with amazing courage” (I. Turgenev).
The Decembrists believed that the main merit in the victory over the French belongs to the people.
“All the orders and efforts of the government would not be enough to drive out the Gauls who invaded Russia and with them twelve tongues, if the people still remained in a daze ... Everyone felt that he was called to assist in a great cause” (I. Yakushkin) .
The Decembrists also noted the just hatred of the people for the invaders: “There was no mercy for the enemies who marked their invasion in our fatherland with all sorts of fury” (N. Muravyov).
His generosity was also noted:
“To the credit of our good people, it must be said that he received them (captives) with compassion, fed them. And he covered, with what he could, their nakedness ”(A. Belyaev).
“The people's war of 1812 aroused such confidence in the people's strength and patriotic enthusiasm, about which until that time they had no idea, no foreboding” (A. Rosen).
All these observations helped the Decembrists to understand the unnaturalness of serf slavery, in which the heroic people were, to understand the justice of the people's indignation at their position. A. Bestuzhev recalls with shame and bitterness that the soldiers, returning home, said:
“We shed blood ... and we are again forced to sweat in corvee! We have delivered our homeland from a tyrant, and the lords are tyrannizing us again!”
A. Bestuzhev wrote: “...Napoleon invaded Russia, and then the Russian people for the first time felt their strength, then a sense of independence awakened in all hearts, first political, and later national. This is the beginning of freethinking in Russia.”
“The great events of the Patriotic War, leaving deep impressions in my soul, made in me some kind of desire for activity,” many Decembrists could say after M. Fonvizin. Briefly and expressively, M. Muravyov spoke about the significance of the events of the Patriotic War for the Decembrists: "We were children of 1812."
Russian army of 1812
The Russian army during the Patriotic War of 1812 was one of the best in the world. She had extensive experience in wars with a strong enemy, went through a harsh school of military art under the guidance of such outstanding military leaders as Peter I, Rumyantsev, Suvorov and others.
The army was divided by type of troops into infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The infantry was the main fighting force. It was divided into linear and light. Linear, or heavy, infantry (the regiments of the Life Guards Semenovsky, Preobrazhensky, Izmailovsky and Lithuanian, grenadier and infantry regiments) were intended to operate in close formation with fire and bayonet strike. Light infantry (life guard regiments of chasseurs and field chasseur regiments) acted in loose formation with rifle fire. The infantry was armed with smooth-bore flintlock guns that fired at 300 paces, rifle jaeger guns that fired at 1000 paces, and pistols that fired at 25 to 30 paces.
The cavalry was also divided into heavy and light. Heavy cavalry (cuirassiers and dragoons) operated in close formation, in lines, attacking the enemy. Light cavalry (hussars and lancers), more mobile, operated in the rear and on the flanks of the enemy, was used for reconnaissance and pursuit in the vanguard and rearguard. The cavalry had dragoon guns, carbines, fittings, as well as edged weapons.
Russian artillery played a huge role in defeating Napoleon's aggressive army. Field artillery consisted of smooth-bore copper guns of various calibers loaded from the muzzle. The aiming range of artillery fire, depending on the caliber of the gun and charge, ranged from 200 to 800 m. Artillery companies had 12 guns each. Each gun was relied on 10 - 13 gun servants and 4 - 6 horses. The companies were divided into battery and light (depending on the caliber of the guns), foot and horse. Artillery companies were reduced to brigades.
The artillery brigades also included engineering units - pioneer (sapper) and pontoon companies.
A special place in the Russian army was occupied by the Cossack troops and other irregular units (Kalmyk, Bashkir, etc.). The latter were called up for service only in wartime. These troops, especially the Don Cossacks, played a big role in the victorious outcome of the war.
The people's militia was also irregular - military units formed only for the duration of the war. After the end of the war, the militias, as a rule, disbanded, while the soldiers served 25 years.
In 1812, about 300 thousand volunteers from the people formed the ranks of the militia. The militia was one of the main sources of replenishment of the field army, one of the main factors that determined the popular character of the war.
The uniforms of the Russian army of this time differed sharply according to the types of troops.
This facilitated the management of troops during hostilities. The infantry went on the attack at full height, and only the jaeger units (arrows) were used on the ground. The cavalry also acted quite openly. The commander-in-chief could freely observe the battle and manage it.
Chief officer and lower ranks of the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment.
Privates and chief officer of the grenadier companies of the Life Guards of the Chasseurs Regiment.
Non-commissioned officer of the Jaeger regiments.
Chief officer of the Vladimir Lancers Regiment.
Private army foot artillery.
Russian artillery guns used in the war of 1812: at the top - a mortar, at the bottom - a howitzer (unicorn).
Private cuirassier of the cavalry guard regiment.
Private Life Guards Dragoon Regiment.
Privates of the Grodno Hussars.
Pioneer of the 2nd Pioneer Regiment.
Sergeant of the Don army.
Huntsman, foot and horse Cossacks of the Tver militia.
It cannot be argued that the most famous and great work of Leo Tolstoy is the novel War and Peace. A variety of themes are connected in it with red threads, but the theme of war occupies a special place. The author calls the war a terrible thing, and he is really right. In his novel, some heroes enter the war as if it were a crime, while other characters are forced to defend themselves and loved ones from ruthless attacks. The novel is riddled with deep metaphors. Particularly striking was: "the cudgel of the people's war."
I understand this phrase as a symbol of the weapons of the common people. It is not elegant and noble, like a sword. In order to master a club, one does not need to practice the art of swordsmanship, just mindlessly wielding brute physical strength is enough. The catchphrase "club of the people's war" in my opinion means that the exhausted people are fighting the furious invaders as best they can, without observing the rules and foundations of martial art. The people fight back without observing military canons and traditions, they are ready to use any means to win, even the most terrible and cruel ones. Moreover, the people will fight to the end, to the last breath, until the enemy is completely defeated.
The war that Tolstoy paints in his work leaves no one indifferent. The author does not ambiguously show that this war was for the most part a people's war. Not only the army defended their native lands from the invader, the entire population actively participated in the defense. Peasants and some nobles fearlessly defended their native land, merchants gave away most of their income to support the mighty Russian army. Many peasants joined the partisans to contribute to the battle. Detachments of partisans included in their composition, both ordinary people and representatives of the nobility, but all of them were united by one common and desirable goal - to save the Motherland.
Leo Tolstoy is a master of the pen, he deftly draws the reader a powerful image of a people who are ready to do anything to save their native lands. The people, as a rule, are not educated and do not possess military wisdom, but this does not diminish the desire to do everything to save the Motherland. The people adopt a simple club and confidently march towards the enemies.
The greatest work of L.N. Tolstoy is rightfully the epic novel "War and Peace". Already by the title one of the themes of the novel is clear - military. Tolstoy always believed that war is a "terrible thing", and participation in this matter is both a great crime and forced self-defense. Self-defense was for Russia and the Patriotic War of 1812. However, the very nature of this war is interesting - it was popular. Not only the troops, but the whole people took part in it.
The peasants, along with the nobles, carried out military service, merchants gave part of their income to the needs of the army, most of the peasants went to the partisans. At the same time, the role of the partisan movement was truly large-scale.
Peasant detachments united with a noble goal - to protect their homeland. The prototypes of the leaders of the peasant movement were the partisan Vasilisa Kozhina - in the novel, the elder Vasilisa, Lieutenant General Denis Davydov. In addition to the above-mentioned heroes, there are other persons in the novel whose prototypes are real historical figures. The most colorful character among the partisans is, without a doubt, Tikhon Shcherbaty. He proved to be an unusually brave scout, but there is no ostentatious heroism in him. He is active, cheerful and ready for any feat, not considering it a feat, but only the fulfillment of duty. He is a collective image of the entire Russian people. There were a lot of such people in other detachments.
Another folk hero, the opposite of the active, constantly moving Tikhon Shcherbaty, is Platon Karataev. There is nothing militant in the image of this hero, his appearance is so peaceful that it is emphasized by the author in his “roundness”. He has a simple and kind character, he does not hate anyone, even the French. But how much folk wisdom we hear from his lips!
Both characters - Tikhon Shcherbaty and Platon Karataev - are depicted schematically. They show different incarnations of the Russian people, but, nevertheless, both of these images are symbolic. They were not created for war, just as any Russian person was not created for it. But if the Motherland is in danger, they are both ready to rush to its defense.
The main leader of the people's war, under whose leadership the French troops were rebuffed, was no longer a young, experienced commander M.I. Kutuzov. He took up his position at the will of the people and was close to the people himself.
Depicting a people's war, the author draws an antithesis between officers who express concern for a soldier, protect and value his life, and officers who are only interested in their own safety and promotion. The first type of officers, undoubtedly, includes Tushin, who was left with a small detachment and only a couple of guns to shoot back from the advancing enemy, while the cowardly Zherkov did not bring the order to retreat to the captain.
The author portrays the Russian people, ready to defend their native land from invaders at any cost. Suffice it to recall the merchant Ferapontov, who set fire to his barns, if only his goods did not go to the enemy. The people go to the enemy with a simple weapon - a club. And this club becomes a real symbol of the people's liberation movement against the Napoleonic army. "... The club of the people's war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength, without asking anyone's tastes and rules, with stupid simplicity, but with expediency, without understanding anything, nailed the French until the entire invasion died." Napoleon with his army was too weak next to the mighty spirit of ordinary Russian people who fought for the liberation of their great Fatherland.
Effective preparation for the exam (all subjects) -
Cudgel of the People's War
Cudgel of the People's War
From the novel "War and Peace" (vol. IV, part 3, ch. 1) by L. N. Tolstoy (1828-1910): "Let's imagine two people who went out with swords to a duel according to all the rules of fencing art ... suddenly one of the opponents, feeling wounded, realizing that this was not a joke ... dropped his sword and, taking the first club that came across, began to turn it around ...
the lumberjack, who demanded a fight according to all the rules of art, were the French; his opponent, who dropped his sword and raised his club, were Russians... Despite all the complaints of the French about the failure to comply with the rules... the club of the people's war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone's tastes and rules, rose, fell and nailed French until the whole invasion is dead.
Allegorically: about the great possibilities of a people's war.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .
See what the "Cudgel of the People's War" is in other dictionaries:
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- , Dyukov Alexander Reshideovich. The organization of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War is still one of the least studied pages of our history. Until now, historians are arguing: why the centralized ...
- People's War. Partisans against punishers, Dyukov, Alexander Reshideovich. The organization of the partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War is still one of the least studied pages of our history. Until now, historians are arguing: why the centralized ...
"Cudgel of the People's War" (based on the novel by L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace")
War and Peace is an epic novel. The work shows historical events of exceptional importance and the role of the people in them. It would be wrong to try to explain the defeat of the French by some special genius of the Russian generals, even by commander-in-chief Kutuzov, or by the fatal miscalculations of Napoleon. The fate of the campaign was decided not in headquarters and headquarters, but in the hearts of ordinary people: Platon Karataev and Tikhon Shcherbaty, Petya Rostov and Denisov, Timokhin and ... And can you name them all? Tolstoy the battle painter paints a large-scale image of the Russian people, who raised the cudgel of the liberation war against the invaders.
The actions of the defenders of the motherland are unconscious, but expedient. It is not some kind of logic or rules that makes people participate in the fight against the enemy. Perhaps it is the very “power of unconscious goodness” that one of the greatest artists of the 20th century wrote about later in his novel “Life and Fate”. Vasily Grossman. In any case, the spirit of the people manifests itself in full measure both in the battle of Borodino and in other important episodes of the campaign of 1812.
Leo Tolstoy draws the heroes of the partisan war with love and respect. Here Denisov, "blushing like a girl," outlines to Kutuzov a plan to "cut the enemy's line of operations between Smolensk and Vyazma." And "it was strange to see the color on this mustachioed, old and drunken face." But Denisov is sincere and natural. Soon we see him in the ranks of the partisans. "On September 22, Denisov, who was one of the partisans, was with his party in the midst of partisan passion." Together with Dolokhov, he is preparing the capture of French transport. They are not embarrassed by the numerical superiority of the demoralized enemy. The main thing is to find out which troops are accompanying the convoy. The peasant partisan Tikhon Shcherbaty was given the task of "taking the language." "Plastun" shows extraordinary courage, energy and dexterity. Being noticed by the French, Tikhon, “running up to the river, flopped into it so that the spray flew and, hiding for a moment, got to the surface, all black from the water, and ran on.”
Is it any wonder that “Tikhon was the most useful and brave man in the party. No one opened cases of attacks more than him, no one else took him and beat the French ... ”However, Shcherbaty’s story about the murder of a captured Frenchman does not cause us to think about any particular cruelty and vindictiveness of the peasant from Pokrovsky.
You can not call cruel and Denisov. The commander of the partisan detachment takes care of the French prisoners, pities them in his own way. The behavior of the careerist Dolokhov is more an exception to the rule than the rule. Recall that Tolstoy writes not only about the courage of this man, but also about his ruthlessness. He is indifferent to the death of Petit, which occurred during the attack on the French transport. He thirsts for the blood of a defeated enemy. Let's take a typical episode. Dolokhov approaches “the motionless, lying Petya with his arms outstretched ... “Ready,” Dolokhov repeated, as if pronouncing this word gave him pleasure, and quickly went to the prisoners, who were surrounded by dismounted Cossacks. - We won't take it! he shouted to Denisov.
But this scene, I repeat, is an exception. The war was won not by Dolokhov and those like him, but by an innumerable mass of ordinary people. And these people are well aware of mercy, compassion and sadness. Denisov's grief after the death of Petya Rostov is genuine, but he does not try to take out his suffering on the French prisoners ...
It seems to me that Tolstoy's idea that the people do not thirst for the blood of the enemy is very important in the novel. Isn't Kutuzov talking about this quality of the winners immediately after the Krasnensky battle?
The captured French evoke the compassion of the commander-in-chief and the entire Russian army: “While they were strong, we did not feel sorry for them, but now you can feel sorry for them. They are people too." Thus, history acquires a moral meaning. The "club of the people's war" is not so much military as moral retribution against the invaders and their proud emperor. This is a manifestation of that higher justice, which, according to Tolstoy, sooner or later wins in the life of human society.
