General Raevsky - a famous Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. He spent about 30 years serving in the Russian army, taking part in all the major battles of that time. He became famous after his feat near S altanovka, the struggle for his battery was one of the key episodes of the Battle of Borodino. Participated in the Battle of Nations and the capture of Paris. It is noteworthy that he was familiar with many Decembrists, the poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
Origin of an officer
General Raevsky came from an old noble family, whose representatives had been in the service of Russian rulers since the time of Vasily III. The grandfather of the hero of our article participated in the Battle of Poltava, retired with the rank of brigadier general.
The father of General Raevsky Nikolai Semenovich served in the Izmailovsky regiment. In 1769 he marriedon Ekaterina Nikolaevna Samoilova. Their firstborn was named Alexander. In 1770, Nikolai Semenovich went to the Russian-Turkish war, was wounded during the capture of Zhupzhi, in the spring of the following year he died a few months before the birth of the hero of our article.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky was born on September 14, 1771 in St. Petersburg. His mother endured the death of her husband hard, this also affected the he alth of the child, Nikolai grew up very painful. A few years later, Ekaterina Nikolaevna married a second time. Her chosen one was General Lev Denisovich Davydov, the uncle of the famous partisan and poet Denis Davydov. In this marriage, she had three more sons and a daughter.
The hero of our article grew up mainly in the family of his maternal grandfather Nikolai Samoilov, where he received an education in the French spirit, a brilliant home education.
On duty
According to the customs of that time, Nikolai was enrolled early in the military service. Already at the age of 3 he was listed in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Actually joined the army at the age of 14 in early 1786.
In 1787 another Russian-Turkish war began. Raevsky was a volunteer in the army. He was in the detachment of the Cossack colonel Orlov. In 1789 he was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment. In its composition, the hero of our article takes part in the battles on the Cahul and Larga rivers, the crossing through Moldova, the sieges of Bendery and Akkerman. For firmness, courage and resourcefulness shown in these companies, in 1790 he was given command of a Cossack regiment.
In December 1790, during the capture of Ishmael, he dieshis brother Alexander. From that war, he returns with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Raevsky becomes Colonel at the beginning of 1792 during the Polish campaign.
Caucasus
In 1794, Raevsky was in command of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment. At that time he was stationed in Georgievsk. There is a calm in the Caucasus, so the hero of our article takes a vacation to get married in St. Petersburg. His chosen one is Sofia Konstantinova. In the middle of 1795, they returned to Georgievsk, where their first child was already born.
During this period, the situation in the region is heating up. The Persian army invades the territory of Georgia, Russia declares war on Persia, fulfilling the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the spring of 1796, the Nizhny Novgorod regiment marches on Derbent. The city was taken after a 10-day siege. Raevsky's regiment was directly responsible for the movement of the grocery store and the protection of communications. Reports to the command noted that the 23-year-old commander maintained strict discipline and order of battle in a difficult and exhausting campaign.
Paul I, who ascended the throne, ordered an end to the war. At the same time, many military leaders were removed from command. Raevsky was among them. Throughout the reign of this emperor, the hero of our article lived in the provinces, equipping his mother's vast estates. He returned to the active army in the spring of 1801, when Alexander I ascended the throne. The new emperor promoted him to major general. A few months later, he again leaves the service, this time on his own initiative, returning to his family and rural concerns. During this period, he is bornfive daughters and another son.
Wars in the early 19th century
In 1806, an anti-French coalition is formed in Europe. Prussia, dissatisfied with the actions of Napoleon, start a war against France. At the same time, the Prussians soon suffer a crushing defeat, and in October 1806 the French enter Berlin. Adhering to allied obligations, Russia sends its army to East Prussia. Napoleon has a two-fold superiority in numbers, but he fails to realize it, which is why the fighting drags on.
In early 1807, Raevsky filed a petition for his enrollment in the ranks of the army. He is appointed commander of the Jaeger brigade.
In June, the hero of our article takes part in all the major battles of that period. These are the battles of Guttstadt, Ankendorf, Deppen. The battle on June 5 becomes especially important for him, at Guttstadt he proves himself to be a skillful and brave military leader, forcing the French to retreat.
A few days later, near Geilsbergeon, he receives a bullet wound in the knee, but remains in the ranks. The Peace of Tilsit put an end to the war with France, but confrontations with Sweden and Turkey immediately begin. For a brilliantly fought battle against the Swedes in Finland, he received the rank of lieutenant general. Raevsky has been in command of the 21st Infantry Division since 1808. In the war against Turkey, it is different when taking the fortress of Silistria.
Patriotic War of 1812
When Napoleon's army invades Russia, General Raevsky commands the 7th Infantry Corps in General Bagration's army. 45,000th army beginsretreat from Grodno to the east to join the army of Barclay de Tolly.
Napoleon seeks to prevent this unification, for which he throws the 50,000-strong corps of Marshal Davout in front of Bagration. On July 21, the French occupy Mogilev. The parties do not have reliable information about the number of the enemy, so Bagration decides to push back the French with the help of Raevsky's corps so that the main army can reach the direct road to Vitebsk.
The fierce battle begins on July 23 near the village of S altanovka. For 10 hours, the corps of General Nikolai Raevsky is fighting at once with five divisions of Davout. At the same time, the battle develops with varying success. At the critical moment of the battle, General Nikolai Raevsky himself leads the Smolensk regiment into battle. The hero of our article is wounded in the chest by buckshot, his behavior brings the soldiers out of their stupor, they put the enemy to flight. This feat of General Raevsky became well known. According to legend, at that moment his sons, 11-year-old Nikolai and 17-year-old Alexander, fought next to him in battle. True, General N. N. Raevsky himself later rejected this version, specifying that his sons were with him that morning, but did not go on the attack.
The Battle of S altanovka becomes known to the entire army, raises the spirit of soldiers and officers. General N. N. Raevsky himself is turning into one of the most beloved military leaders among the soldiers and the whole people.
After a bloody battle, he manages to take the corps out of the battle in combat readiness. Davout, assuming that the main forces of Bagration would soon join, postponed the generalbattle the next day. At this time, the Russian army successfully crossed the Dnieper, advancing towards Smolensk to join with Barclay. The French will know about it only in a day.
Battles for Smolensk
Successful rearguard battles allowed the Russian army to unite near Smolensk. On August 7, it was decided to go on the offensive. Napoleon, on the other hand, decided to go behind Barclay's rear, but the stubborn resistance of Neverovsky's division near Krasnoy delayed the French offensive for a whole day. During this time, Raevsky's corps arrived at Smolensk.
When 180,000 French were at the city walls on August 15, only 15,000 people remained at the disposal of the hero of our article. He was faced with the task of holding the city for at least a day before the arrival of the main forces. At the military council, it was decided to concentrate forces within the old fortress wall, organizing defense in the suburbs. It was expected that the French would inflict the main blow on the Royal Bastion, which was entrusted with the protection of General Pasquich. Literally in a few hours, General Raevsky organized the defense of the city in Smolensk, demonstrating tactical skills and organizational skills.
The next morning, the French cavalry rushes to the attack, she manages to push the Russian cavalry, but Raevsky's artillery stops the advance of the enemy. Marshal Ney's infantry is next to attack. But Paskevich repels the attack in the area of the Royal Bastion. At 9 am Napoleon arrives in Smolensk. He orders the artillery shelling of the city, later Neymakes another assault attempt, but fails again.
It is believed that if Napoleon managed to quickly capture Smolensk, he would have managed to strike at the rear of the scattered Russian army and defeat it. But this was not allowed by the troops under the command of Raevsky. Only on August 18, Russian troops left the city, blowing up bridges and powder stores.
Borodino
At the end of August 1812, the command of the Russian army passed to Kutuzov. The central event of the Patriotic War was the battle on the Borodino field, 120 kilometers from Moscow. In the center of the location of the Russian army was Kurgan height, which was instructed to defend under the command of the hero of our article.
The day before, the soldiers of General Raevsky's battery were building earthen fortifications. At dawn, 18 guns were installed. The French began shelling the left flank at 7 o'clock in the morning. At the same time, a struggle began at Kurgan height. Infantry divisions were sent to storm it, after artillery preparation the enemy went on the attack. The battery of General Raevsky in a difficult situation managed to stop the advance of the enemy.
Soon, three divisions of the French went on the assault, and the situation on the battery became simply critical, there were not enough shells. When the French broke into the heights, hand-to-hand combat began. Yermolov's battalions came to the rescue and pushed the enemy back. During these two attacks, the French army suffered significant losses.
At this time, on the left flank, Platov's regiments and Uvarov's cavalry stopped the enemy's attacks, givingKutuzov the opportunity to pull up reserves on the left flank. Raevsky's corps was exhausted, Likhachev's division was sent to help the battery.
After lunch, an artillery skirmish began. The infantry and cavalry simultaneously tried to take the height by storm with the support of 150 guns. Losses were heavy on both sides. The detachments of General Raevsky at Borodino were nicknamed "the graves of the French cavalry" by the enemy. Only due to a significant superiority in numbers, around 16.00 the enemy managed to take the height.
With the onset of darkness, the battle ceased, the French were forced to withdraw to their original lines, leaving the battery of General Raevsky. In the war, the hero of our article once again demonstrated courage. At the same time, the losses of the corps were huge, the officer himself was wounded in the leg, but did not leave the battlefield, spending the whole day in the saddle. For this heroic defense he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
During the military council in Fili, Raevsky supported Kutuzov, who proposed to leave Moscow. When Napoleon left the burned city a month later, a major battle took place near Maloyaroslavets, Raevsky's corps was sent to the aid of Dokhturov. With the help of this reinforcement, the enemy was driven back from the city. The French did not manage to break through to Kaluga, they were forced to retreat along the Old Smolensk road.
In November, as a result of a 3-day battle near Krasny, Napoleon lost a third of his army. It was Raevsky's corps that defeated the remnants of Marshal Ney's corps, with whom he had to fight during the campaign. Soon after itRaevsky went for treatment due to numerous wounds and concussions.
Foreign trip
The hero of our article returned to duty a few months later, in the midst of a foreign campaign. He was given command of the Grenadier Corps. In the spring of 1813, his troops showed themselves in the battles of Bautzen and Koenigswarta. At the end of the summer, he joined Field Marshal Schwarzenberg's Bohemian Army. As part of this military unit, Raevsky's corps participated in the battle of Kulm, in which the French were defeated, and in the battle of Dresden, which was unsuccessful for the Allied Army. For the courage shown near Kulm, Raevsky received the Order of St. Vladimir of the first degree.
The so-called Battle of the Nations near Leipzig played a special role in the biography of General Raevsky. During the battle, Nikolai Nikolayevich was wounded in the chest, but remained in the saddle, continuing to command his corps until the very end of the battle. A message about General N. N. Raevsky, who once again proved himself to be a hardy and fearless officer, was delivered to the command, he was promoted to general from the cavalry.
In the winter of 1814, having barely recovered his he alth, Raevsky returned to the active army. He takes part in several other important battles, including at Bar-sur-Aube, Brienne, Arcy-sur-Aube. In the spring, Russian troops approach Paris. Raevsky's corps attacks Belleville, occupies this height, despite the fierce resistance of the enemy. This contributed to the fact that the defenders of the French capital as a result werecompelled to lay down their arms and start negotiations. For the courage shown in the battles for Paris, Raevsky received the Order of St. George of the second degree. Many historians have studied his exploits and biography, perhaps the most thorough and complete work belongs to N. A. Pochko. He wrote several exhaustive studies about General N. N. Raevsky.
In recent years
After World War II, Raevsky settled in Kyiv. In February 1816 he took command of the Third and then the Fourth Infantry Corps. At the same time, he was not interested in court positions, politics and official honors. It is said that he even refused the title of count, which was granted to him by Emperor Alexander I.
Almost every year the hero of our article, together with the whole family, went on a trip to the Caucasus or the Crimea. During this period, the general became closely acquainted with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. The young poet becomes a close friend of the officer himself and his children. He even has a romantic relationship with his daughter Maria. Pushkin dedicates several of his poems to her.
In November 1824, Raevsky voluntarily went on leave for he alth reasons. He is having a hard time in 1825: first, his mother Ekaterina Nikolaevna dies, and after the Decembrist uprising, three people close to him are immediately arrested - the husbands of the daughters Volkonsky and Orlov, brother Vasily Lvovich. Everyone is expelled from the capital. The sons of the general are also involved in the investigation, but, in the end, all charges are dropped from them. In 1826, Raevsky forever says goodbye to hisfavorite, daughter Masha, who goes to exile in Siberia for her husband.
The new Emperor Nicholas I appoints Raevsky a member of the State Council.
Private life
The family of General Raevsky was large and friendly. In 1794 he married Sofya Alekseevna Konstantinova, who was two years older than him. Her parents are a Greek by nationality, Alexei Alekseevich Konstantinov, who worked as a librarian for Catherine II, and the daughter of Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, Elena Mikhailovna.
Nikolai and Sophia loved each other, remaining faithful spouses until the end of their lives, despite some disagreements. They had seven children in total. The firstborn was the son of General Raevsky Alexander, who was born in 1795. He became a colonel and chamberlain. The second son Nikolai, born in 1801, rose to the rank of lieutenant general, participated in the Caucasian wars, is considered the founder of Novorossiysk.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. made a dizzying career, dying early enough. He caught erysipelas on his way to Moscow from the south of Russia. He died on his estate in the Voronezh province at the age of only 43.
Daughter Ekaterina was a maid of honor, the wife of the Decembrist Mikhail Orlov, Elena and Sophia also became maid of honor, Sophia died in infancy, Maria, who was the favorite of the hero of our article, became the wife of the Decembrist Sergei Volkonsky, followed him into exile in Siberia.
The hero of our article died on September 16, 1829near Kyiv in the village of Boltyshka. Now it is located on the territory of the Aleksandrovsky district of the Kirovograd region. The general was 58 years old, he was buried in the village of Razumovka in the family tomb. The cause of his death at such an early age was pneumonia. He alth, undermined by numerous wounds, could not cope with this ailment. Raevsky's wife survived him by 15 years, died in Rome in 1844, where she was buried.
