Brilliant victories of the Russian army under the leadership of P. A. Rumyantsev over the Turkish-Tatar troops: the battles of Ryabaya Mogila and Large. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky - biography, facts from life, photographs, background information
Russian commander. Field Marshal General.
Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev was born in Moscow. He received a good education at home and first military experience under the leadership of his father, General A.I. Rumyantsev - an associate and active participant in the Northern War against Sweden. According to the tradition of that time, the son of an eminent father was enrolled in the guard at the age of six and promoted to officer in 1740.
During the Russian-Swedish War of 1741-1743 he was in the ranks of the Russian active army with his father. The position of a parent provided Peter with a decent career. At the age of 18, Pyotr Rumyantsev, with the rank of colonel, was appointed commander of the Voronezh infantry regiment, and soon his regiment was among the best.
In 1748, he took part in the campaign of Russian troops on the Rhine, but they did not have to participate on the side of Austria in hostilities against the French army. This campaign greatly contributed to the end of the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740-1748.
The Seven Years' War of 1756-1763, in which half of Europe took part, became a real combat school for Rumyantsev. He quickly rose to command positions in the active army, first successfully commanding an infantry brigade and then a division.
On August 19, 1757, on the territory of East Prussia near the modern Russian city of Chernyakhovsk, the Russian 55,000-strong army of Field Marshal S.F. Apraksina, with 79 guns, crossed the Prussian border and moved towards the city of Konigsberg. However, the path to it was blocked by the troops of Field Marshal Lewald (24 thousand people with 64 guns). The Russian commander-in-chief decided to bypass the enemy’s position and, having crossed the Pregel River, settled down to rest.
Having learned about this from his intelligence, Field Marshal Lewald also crossed to the opposite bank of the river and unexpectedly attacked the Russian troops, who were lining up to continue the march to Allenburg. Main blow fell on the 2nd division of General Lopukhin, which had just begun moving in marching formation. In the first minutes of the Prussian attack, the Narva and 2nd Grenadier regiments lost up to half of their strength. The Russian infantry deployed into battle formation and repelled all enemy attacks in the center, but the right flank of the Lopukhin division remained open.
In such a critical situation, the commander of the infantry brigade of the 1st division, General Rumyantsev, took the initiative and led the brigade into battle. The Rumyantsev regiments, having managed to quickly make their way through the swampy forest, unexpectedly struck the flank of the attacking Prussian infantry. This blow, supported by the entire Russian army, tipped the scales in its favor. Field Marshal Lewald's troops, having lost about 5 thousand people and 29 guns, retreated in disarray to Velau, their rear base. The Russians, who lost 5.4 thousand people due to the fault of the commander-in-chief, pursued them sluggishly.
After the victory, Apraksin, unexpectedly for everyone, withdrew the Russian army from East Prussia, for which he was removed from office and accused of high treason.
On August 1, 1759, the second major battle of the Seven Years' War took place near the village of Kunersdorf east of the city of Frankfurt an der Oder. Then the royal army of Prussia under the command of Frederick II and the Russian army under the command of Chief General P.S. met on the battlefield. Saltykov with the allied Austrian corps.
In this battle, Rumyantsev commanded the troops defending the heights of Gross Spitzberg; With rifle salvoes at point-blank range, artillery fire and blows, they repulsed all attacks of the Prussian infantry and cavalry. Frederick II's attempts to take control of Gross Spitzberg ultimately failed complete defeat Prussian army.
After this victory, Lieutenant General P.A. Rumyantsev received a separate corps under his command, with which in 1761 he besieged the powerful Prussian fortress of Kolberg (now the Polish city of Kolobrzeg) on the shore Baltic Sea. During the Seven Years' War, Russian troops unsuccessfully besieged this seaside fortress twice. For the third time, Kolberg was blocked from land by the 22,000-strong (with 70 guns) Rumyantsev corps from land, and from the sea by the Baltic squadron of Vice Admiral A.I. Polyansky. IN naval blockade A detachment of the allied Swedish fleet also participated.
The garrison of the Kolberg fortress numbered 4 thousand people with 140 guns. The approaches to the fortress were covered by a well-fortified field camp, located on an advantageous hill between the river and the swamp. The defense in the camp was held by the 12,000-strong corps of the Prince of Württemberg. The routes of communication between Kolberg and the Prussian capital Berlin were covered by royal troops (individual detachments) numbering 15-20 thousand people.
P.A. Rumyantsev, before besieging the enemy fortress, trained his troops to attack in columns, and light infantry(future ranger shooters) - act in loose formation on very rough terrain, and only after that he headed to the Kolberg Fortress.
With the support of naval artillery and a landing of sailors, Rumyantsev's corps captured the advanced field fortifications of the Prussians and in early September came close to the camp of the Prince of Württemberg. He, unable to withstand the shelling of Russian artillery and seeing the enemy’s readiness to storm his camp, secretly withdrew his troops from the fortress on the night of November 4.
The Russians occupied the enemy camp fortifications and besieged the fortress from all sides, starting to bombard it from land and sea. The Prince of Württemberg, together with other royal military leaders, tried more than once to help the besieged, but was unsuccessful. Cossack patrols informed Rumyantsev in time about the approach of the Prussians, and they were always met fully armed. On December 5, the Kolberg garrison, unable to withstand the siege, capitulated to the Russians. For Prussia, the surrender of this fortress was a huge loss.
During the Seven Years' War, General Rumyantsev became one of the best commanders of Empress Catherine II.
In 1764-1796 P.A. Rumyantsev was president of the Little Russian Collegium, without leaving military service. At the same time, he was also the Governor-General of Little Russia, to whom the troops stationed there were subordinate.
The name of Rumyantsev is associated with the legal establishment of serfdom in Ukraine in 1783. Before this, Ukrainian peasants were formally personally free people. Count Rumyantsev himself was one of the largest feudal landowners in the Russian Empire. Empress Catherine II gifted her favorites, those close to her, and victorious military leaders with many thousands of serf souls, estates, and villages.
As the head of Little Russia, Rumyantsev did a lot to prepare the troops entrusted to him for the war with Turkey. Empress Catherine II decided to recapture the Northern Black Sea region from the Ottoman Porte in order to provide Russia with access to the Black Sea and at the same time put an end to the raids of the Krymchaks, who had been disturbing the border territories of the Russian state for several centuries.
At the beginning of the first Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Little Russian governor-general became the commander of the 2nd Russian army in the field. In 1769, he led expeditionary forces sent to capture the Turkish fortress of Azov. In August of the same year he was appointed commander of the 1st Russian Army. At its head he achieved his main victories - in the battles of Ryaba Mogila, Larga and Kagul. In all three battles, Rumyantsev, choosing offensive tactics, demonstrated the ability to maneuver troops and achieve complete victory over superior enemy forces.
The Pockmarked Grave is a mound on the right bank of the Prut River near the mouth of the Kalmatsui (Limatsui) River. Not far from this mound, on June 17, 1770, the Russian army inflicted a complete defeat on the Turkish troops and the cavalry army of the Crimean Khan. 1st Army General-in-Chief P.A. Rumyantsev numbered about 39 thousand people with 115 guns. On the 11th she focused on east coast Prut in front of the enemy's field fortified positions. 22 thousand Turks and 50 thousand cavalry stood against the Russians Crimean Tatars with 44 guns. These forces were commanded by the Crimean Khan Kaplan-Girey.
Despite the enemy's numerical superiority, Rumyantsev decided to capture his fortifications with a surprise attack. To do this, he divided his army into four detachments. The main forces, commanded by Rumyantsev himself, and the detachment of General F.V. The bowra were intended to attack from the front. Two other detachments - General G.A. Potemkin and Prince N.V. Repnin (together with the cavalry of General I.P. Saltykov) was to strike at the flank and rear.
The Russians went on the offensive at dawn. The main forces, with their frontal attack, diverted the attention of Khan Kaplan-Girey from their flanks. The detachments of Potemkin (who crossed the Prut south of the enemy camp) and Repnin immediately created a threat of encirclement for the Sultan’s army, and they fled. The Russian cavalry pursued those who fled for 20 kilometers.
After the victory at Ryaboya Mogila, the Rumyantsev army moved south. The second battle took place on July 7 on the banks of the Larga River, which flowed into the Prut. Here General-in-Chief Rumyantsev was again confronted by Khan Kaplan-Girey, the ruler of the Crimean Khanate. This time he had under his banners 65 thousand Crimean cavalry, 15 thousand Turkish infantry with 33 guns.
The enemy fortified himself in a camp near the mouth of the Larga on its opposite bank, awaiting the approach of the Russian army. Rumyantsev’s plan was as follows. Divisions of Lieutenant General P.G. Plemyannikov (about 6 thousand people with 25 guns) was to pin down the enemy with an attack from the front. The main army forces were supposed to inflict a strong beat along the enemy's right flank.
At night, the Russian troops, leaving fires in the camp, crossed Larga and formed divisional squares in front of it with artillery and cavalry between them. Each of the three divisional squares acted independently in the battle. A strong reserve was created just in case. The battle began at 4 o'clock in the morning. Under the cover of fire from 7 batteries, the main forces of the Rumyantsev army began a flanking maneuver.
Khan Kaplan-Girey in vain sent his huge cavalry against the advancing squares. She struck either at the flank or at the rear of the Russian square, but each time she retreated with heavy losses for the Krymchaks. It was especially difficult for General Repnin’s division, which was advancing on the left flank of the main forces. She sometimes found herself completely surrounded by enemy light cavalry.
In the end, fired by longitudinal fire from Major Vnukov’s battery advanced forward and attacked by the cavalry of Lieutenant General Saltykov and the infantry brigade of Major General A.V. Rimsky-Korsakov, the Crimean cavalry retreated to their fortified camp. At this time, Plemyannikov’s battalions decisively attacked it and, during the first bayonet attack, broke into the camp. The Turkish infantry, not accepting hand-to-hand combat, was the first to flee. The Crimean cavalry also ran after her.
By 12 noon, the battle on the banks of the Larga River ended with the complete victory of Russian weapons. Only a hasty retreat allowed the Turks and the Crimean cavalry to avoid heavy losses. Their losses amounted to over a thousand people killed and up to 2 thousand captured. The trophies of the winners were all the enemy artillery, 8 banners and a huge convoy. The losses of the Russian troops amounted to only 90 people, so noticeable was their superiority in the ability to professionally fight over the Turkish infantry and Crimean cavalry.
The troops of the Crimean Khan Kaplan-Girey, defeated in the battles of Ryabaya Mogila and on the Larga River, turned out to be only the vanguard of the Turkish army under the command of the Grand Vizier Khalil Pasha. It was just crossing the full-flowing Danube and concentrated in the southern part of Bessarabia.
The Turks were waiting for the enemy to approach in a well-fortified field camp east of the village of Vulcanesti (now the Republic of Moldova). Halil Pasha's army consisted of up to 50 thousand infantry, mainly Janissaries, 100 thousand cavalry and 130-180 guns. The nearly 80,000-strong cavalry of the Crimean Khan stayed not far from the Turkish camp near Lake Yalpug, ready to strike Rumyantsev’s army in the rear and capture his convoys.
The Russian commander knew about the numerical superiority of Halil Pasha's army, but decided to be the first to attack his fortified field camp. Having covered himself with an 11,000-strong detachment from the rear from the Crimean cavalry, Rumyantsev led the main forces of his army on the offensive: 21,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 118 guns.
On the night of July 21, Russian troops set out in five columns from a camp camp near the village of Grechani (Grisesti). Having crossed the Trajan Wall, they again formed into divisional squares. The cavalry positioned itself between them and behind the square. Two-thirds of the forces were dispatched to attack the enemy’s left flank. Heavy cavalry and artillery brigade of General P.I. Melissino made up the army reserve.
From 6 to 8 o'clock in the morning, Russian troops moved to their starting positions to storm the camp of the Grand Vizier. During this time, thousands of Turkish cavalry repeatedly attacked squares slowly moving across the steppe. Approaching the enemy fortifications, the Russians launched an attack. During the attack of the square of Lieutenant General Plemyannikov, a 10,000-strong detachment of Janissaries successfully counterattacked and managed to break into the square and disrupt its ranks. Then Rumyantsev brought into action Melissino’s artillery, and from the reserve of General Olitz’s division, the 1st Grenadier Regiment, which immediately launched a bayonet attack on the Janissary infantry. The reserve cavalry was also sent to help.
Plemyannikov's square, having recovered from the blow of the Janissaries, moved forward again. The Janissaries had to retreat behind the fortifications of the camp. Soon a general assault on the Turkish camp began. The Janissaries were driven out of their trenches. At about 10 o'clock in the morning, the Turkish army, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Russians and the fury of hand-to-hand combat, fled in panic. The Grand Vizier Khalil Pasha lost the ability to control his troops and also hurried to the saving banks of the Danube, where the powerful Turkish fortress of Izmail stood. The Crimean Khan and his cavalry did not dare to get involved in the battle and moved away from Cahul to Akkerman (now Belgorod-Dnestrovsky).
Rumyantsev sent part of his troops to pursue the Turks. Two days later, on July 23, the Russians overtook them at the Danube crossings near Kartal and inflicted another defeat on them. The Supreme Vizier again found himself powerless - his soldiers refused to obey him, thinking only about how to get to the right bank of the Danube.
This time the enemy losses were huge: about 20 thousand people were killed and captured. The Turks threw 130 guns onto the battlefield, taking with them only a small number of light guns. The losses of the winners amounted to about 1.5 thousand people. The trophies of the Russians again became the convoy of the Sultan's army and its camp with many thousands of tents and huts.
Empress Catherine II generously rewarded Russian military leaders for the Cahul victory. Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev was awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree. He became the second person in Russian history to receive such high reward. The first was the empress herself, who with her own sovereign hand placed on herself the insignia of the 1st degree.
Advancing along the Prut River, the Russian army reached the banks of the Danube and occupied the left bank of its lower reaches. To force Turkey to admit that it was defeated in the war, Rumyantsev, now a field marshal general, led his troops to the Shumlu fortress. The Russians, having crossed the Danube, found themselves on Bulgarian soil.
This forced the Ottoman Empire to conclude the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty with Russia, which secured Russia’s status as a Black Sea power. To commemorate the victories won, the Russian commander in 1775, by decree of the empress, began to be called Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky.
At the end of the war, Pyotr Alexandrovich was entrusted with command of the heavy cavalry of the Russian army.
At the beginning of the new Russian-Turkish War (1787-1791), Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky was appointed commander of the 2nd Russian Army. However, due to a conflict with the Empress's favorite Grigory Potemkin, Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky was soon removed from command of the army and in 1789 recalled from the theater of military operations to perform governor-general duties in Little Russia.
P.A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky made a great contribution to the development of Russian military art. He perfectly organized the process of training the regular army and applied new, more progressive forms of combat. He was an adherent of offensive strategy and tactics, which were later improved by another great Russian commander - A.V. Suvorov.
For the first time in the history of military art, Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky used divisional squares in combination with a loose formation of riflemen, which meant a departure from linear tactics.
The Russian commander wrote several military theoretical works. His “Instructions”, “Rite of Service” and “Thoughts” were reflected in the military regulations of the Russian army and influenced its organization in the second half of the 18th century.
Alexey Shishov. 100 great military leaders
Pyotr Rumyantsev: how a hooligan and rowdy became the best commander in Europe On January 15, 1725, Pyotr Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky was born - a commander who created a new Russian school of military strategy and tactics. Tags: Pyotr Rumyantsevhistory of Russiawar with Prussia Illegitimate son of the emperor
When it comes to talking about the most famous and successful commanders in the history of Russia, the name of Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev is rarely mentioned among the first. Meanwhile, it was he who was the founder of the principles of offensive strategy and tactics that brought glory to the Russian army.
But it’s not that Rumyantsev himself was spared fame, but he clearly received it to a lesser extent than he deserved. There were many reasons for this, including the difficult character of the military leader himself...
Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev was born on January 15, 1725 in the family of General-Chief Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev and his wife Maria Andreevna Rumyantseva.
According to the widespread version, Pyotr Rumyantsev was born in Transnistria, in the village of Stroentsy, where Maria Rumyantseva was waiting for the return of her husband, sent by Emperor Peter I on a diplomatic mission to Turkey. However, according to another version, Pyotr Rumyantsev was born in Moscow.
To belong to ancient family Rumyantsev promised little Petya a great career in the public service. Some, however, believe that his origins were even more noble.
The fact is that, according to contemporaries, Peter the Great had the most tender feelings for the wife of his associate Alexander Rumyantsev. Simply put, Maria Rumyantseva was called the emperor's mistress. In this regard, some believed that Petit’s father was not Chief General Rumyantsev, but Peter I.
Hooligan and spendthrift
The newborn was indeed named in honor of the emperor, and his godmother was the wife of Peter I, the future Empress Catherine I.
With the accession of Empress Anna Ioannovna in 1730, the Rumyantsevs fell into disgrace and spent several years in exile on the territory of the Sarov district.
Article on the topic Operation “Successor”. Why didn't Peter the Great prepare a replacement for himself? This, however, did not prevent 10-year-old Petya from enlisting in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment.
At the same time, the boy himself did not strive to live up to either his high origin or the high hopes of his parents. Peter grew up as a real hooligan who terrified the area and made his father and mother blush with shame.
In 1739, a 14-year-old teenager, educated at home, was assigned to serve in the Russian diplomatic mission in Berlin.
The father hoped that this status would bring his son to reason, but it turned out the other way around - the European air of freedom hit Peter’s head, and the young man went into all sorts of troubles. A year later, Pyotr Rumyantsev was dismissed from the diplomatic mission with the wording “for extravagance, laziness and bullying.” The hooligan and troublemaker were assigned for training to the Land Noble Corps.
And in vain - the only person who found control over him was Rumyantsev Sr. Dad simply flogged his son like Sidorov’s goat, and for a while it helped.
And in the gentry corps, without the supervision of his father, Pyotr Rumyantsev continued to have fun, so much so that in just four months the most experienced and persistent teachers howled at his pranks, begging - take him away from us, for God’s sake, while at least something remains from the educational institution.
From second lieutenant to colonel in two years
In 1741, Pyotr Rumyantsev was promoted to second lieutenant and sent to the active army, to the Russian-Swedish war. And here the unexpected happened - yesterday’s hooligan turned into a very capable and courageous young officer who showed himself excellently at Vilmanstrand and Helsingfors.
The 16-year-old second lieutenant shared the hardships of service with his soldiers, did not disdain to eat from the soldier’s cauldron, and strictly ensured that his subordinates were always dressed, shod and fed.
During the two years of the war, Pyotr Rumyantsev rose in the rank of captain and was awarded the high honor - he was tasked with delivering to St. Petersburg a report on the conclusion of the Abos peace, which ended the Russian-Swedish war.
Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, the young officer received the rank of colonel and was appointed commander of the Voronezh infantry regiment.
Article on the topic Chief in the city. Why Prince Golitsyn became the favorite governor of Moscow One could say that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna considered the 18-year-old officer to have a gift for leadership, but in fact it was dizzying career growth Pyotr Rumyantsev was obliged in this case to his surname. Elizaveta Petrovna, unlike her predecessor, favored the Rumyantsevs, especially Peter’s father, and it was with this that the conferment of a high rank on his son was connected.
“Either sew up your ears, or renounce you...”
In 1744, the parents married the 19-year-old colonel to Ekaterina Golitsyna, the daughter of another Peter the Great’s associate and outstanding Russian commander, Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn.
This marriage turned out to be unsuccessful - the young people did not experience any feelings for each other, and their relationship always remained cold, despite the fact that they had three sons.
Pyotr Rumyantsev went on sprees from his unloved wife, and on such wild sprees that all of Russia gossiped about them. The Empress herself, in letters to Rumyantsev Sr., advised flogging the colonel, who had lost all shame. And Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev once said bitterly to his son: “It came to me: either sew up my ears and not hear your bad deeds, or renounce you...”
In 1749, Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev died. And only then it became clear how much he meant to his son. The death of his father turned out to be a real shock for Pyotr Rumyantsev, after which he completely changed. Yesterday's reveler has become serious person who devoted himself entirely to military service.
At the beginning of glorious deeds
In 1755, Pyotr Rumyantsev was awarded the rank of major general, and a year later the Seven Years' War began, during which his gift as a commander was fully revealed.
On August 30, 1757, in the battle with the Prussian army at Gross-Jägersdorf, General Rumyantsev commanded a reserve of four infantry regiments - Grenadier, Trinity, Voronezh and Novgorod - which was located on the other side of the forest bordering the Jägersdorf field.
Article on the topic Traitor of the Motherland. How Field Marshal Apraksin deprived Russia of historical victory At the height of the battle, when the Russian right flank began to retreat under the attacks of the Prussians, Rumyantsev, without orders, on his own initiative, threw his fresh reserve against the left flank of the Prussian infantry. The volley and bayonet attack of Rumyantsev's soldiers tipped the scales of the battle in favor of the Russian army. Pyotr Rumyantsev was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of a division.
In 1758, the name of Rumyantsev began to strike fear among experienced Prussian military leaders. Already in January of that year, the troops of Russian generals Rumyantsev and Saltykov occupied all of East Prussia. In the summer of 1758, General Rumyantsev, at the head of the cavalry, covered the maneuvers of the Russian army and did not give the Prussians a single chance to strike at the main forces.
After the Battle of Zorndorf, General Rumyantsev once again demonstrated his ability to baffle the Prussians: covering the withdrawal of the main forces, 20 dismounted dragoons and horse-grenadier squadrons of Rumyantsev’s detachment detained the 20,000-strong Prussian corps for the whole day.
How General Rumyantsev destroyed the pride of the Prussian army
On August 12, 1759, the Battle of Kunersdorf took place, in which the best forces of the Prussian army of Frederick II were opposed by the allied Russian-Austrian forces.
Rumyantsev's division was located in the center of Russian positions, at the height of the Big Spitz. The Prussian army broke through the left flank and attacked Rumyantsev's division. Enemy artillery fell on his soldiers, after which the famous Prussian heavy cavalry under the command of Friedrich Seydlitz delivered its terrible blow.
It seemed impossible to withstand this onslaught, but the Russians did not give up their positions. And at the decisive moment, Pyotr Rumyantsev personally led his soldiers in a bayonet counterattack. Frederick's army began to retreat, and then completely ran. The Prussian king also fled, having lost his famous cocked hat on the battlefield, which became a trophy of the Russian army. And Seydlitz's cavalry, the pride of the Prussian army, was completely defeated.
For the victory at Kunersdorf, Pyotr Rumyantsev was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
Rumyantsev acted unconventionally on the battlefield, forcing the enemy to get confused in his own rearrangements. His actions not only led to the defeat of the Prussian army, they completely dispelled the myth that the strategy and tactics of Frederick II's army were the best in the world.
Capture of Kohlberg
In 1761, General Rumyantsev played a key role in the last major battle of the Seven Years' War - the siege and capture of Kolberg. Rumyantsev with 18 thousand Russian troops, separately from the rest of them, approached Kolberg and attacked the fortified camp of the Prince of Württemberg (12 thousand people), which covered the approaches to the city. By capturing the camp, Rumyantsev began the siege of Kolberg. The Baltic Fleet assisted him in the blockade of the city. The siege lasted 4 months and ended on December 16 with the surrender of the garrison. The siege turned out to be difficult - the fortress was powerful, had large reserves of food and ammunition, and Prussian detachments operated effectively in the rear of the Russian troops. During these 4 months, the Military Council decided three times to lift the blockade, the same recommendation was given by the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops, Buturlin, but Rumyantsev, in defiance of everyone, continued the siege, forcing Kolberg to capitulate. After the victory, 3,000 prisoners, 20 banners, 173 guns were taken.
Reproduction from the painting “The Capture of the Kolberg Fortress” by Alexander Kotzebue Rumyantsev was talked about as the best commander in Europe, who replaced existing military models with completely new tactical and strategic techniques, in particular the conduct of high-speed maneuverable warfare. These techniques were subsequently developed and perfected by Alexander Suvorov.
King Frederick II of Prussia considered the war lost and was thinking about abdicating the throne. Only a miracle could save him. That's what happened. The seriously ill Empress Elizaveta Petrovna managed to receive a report from Rumyantsev about the capture of Kolberg, but died the next day.
Commander against the coup
Question and answer What reforms did Peter III want to carry out? The new Emperor Peter III, a passionate admirer of Frederick II, immediately stopped the war, returned all the territories conquered by the Russians, and offered military assistance to the Prussians in the fight against Russia's former allies. The Russian Guard took this as an insult. What emotions Pyotr Rumyantsev himself experienced inside is known only to him. But here’s a strange thing - yesterday’s hooligan, who did not recognize any rules, this time turned out to be one of those Russian generals who followed the old military wisdom “Orders are not discussed - orders are carried out.”
Rumyantsev, promoted to general-in-chief, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Pomerania and was preparing, together with yesterday’s enemies, to invade Denmark.
Article on the topic From Fike to the Mistress of Russia. 10 facts about the early years of Catherine the Great This preparation was followed by the coup of 1762, during which Catherine II ascended the throne. And again, General Rumyantsev behaved in a way that was not expected from him - he did not swear allegiance to the new empress until the death of Peter III became known.
Such demonstrative disapproval coup d'etat could have resulted in serious consequences for Pyotr Rumyantsev. Without waiting for them, the general resigned, believing that his career was over.
However, the new empress considered that losing such a valuable person as Rumyantsev was unacceptable, despite the fact that she, of course, was not very pleased with the general’s behavior during the coup.
Governor-General of Little Russia
In 1764, Pyotr Rumyantsev was appointed governor-general of Little Russia with instructions to promote a closer unification of Little Russia with Russia administratively. Pyotr Rumyantsev held this position until his death.
Rumyantsev proved himself to be a talented administrator, starting, so to speak, with taking inventory. A “general inventory” of Little Russia was carried out, which went down in history under the name of the Rumyantsev inventory. This made it possible for the first time to establish the exact population of the region, as well as its property status.
Under Rumyantsev, Little Russia, which previously was, as they now say, a “subsidized region,” turned into a developed “donor region.”
Article on the topic Prince of Tauride. The genius and vanity of Grigory Potemkin In 1768, the Russian-Turkish war began, at the first stage of which Rumyantsev was entrusted with command of the Second Army, which was entrusted with auxiliary functions.
However, the slowness and indecision of the commander of the main forces, Prince Golitsyn, forced Catherine II to replace him with Rumyantsev.
Rumyantsev remained faithful to the tactics that brought him success during the Seven Years' War - he needed to act quickly, decisively, moving forward.
Turkish nightmare
On July 18, 1770, at Larga, Rumyantsev’s 25,000-strong corps defeated the 80,000-strong Turkish-Tatar corps.
On August 1, 1770, on the Cahul River, Rumyantsev’s 32,000-strong army, which had 118 guns, fought a battle with a 150,000-strong Turkish-Tatar army, which had 140 guns. Despite the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy, Rumyantsev's well-trained and well-organized soldiers defeated the enemy, putting him to flight. The ratio of losses looked simply incredible - less than 400 for the Russians versus 20,000 for the Turks.
Even his old enemy, the Prussian King Frederick, congratulated Rumyantsev on this victory with a personal letter.
Rumyantsev continued to pursue the Turks, taking city after city, leading the enemy army into complete disorder.
The war, however, dragged on for several years, since the Turks, having a large reserve of manpower, counted on a radical change in the situation.
In 1774, Rumyantsev with a 50,000-strong army opposed the 150,000-strong Turkish army, which, avoiding battle, concentrated on the heights near Shumla. Rumyantsev with part of his army went around the Turkish camp and cut off the vizier's communication with Adrianople, which caused such panic in the Turkish army that the vizier accepted everything peaceful conditions.
Question and answer To whom and for what is the Order of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called awarded? On July 21, 1775, the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was concluded. On the same day, Empress Catherine II, by personal Highest decree, ordered Field Marshal Count Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev to add the name “Zadunaysky” to his surname (“to glorify the dangerous crossing of the Danube”) and to be called Count Rumyantsev-Zadunaysky; granted a certificate describing his victories, a field marshal's baton with diamonds (“for reasonable military leadership”), a sword with diamonds (“for brave enterprises”), laurel and Maslenitsa wreaths decorated with diamonds (“for victories”), and the same cross and the star of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The Empress also presented the commander with a village in Belarus of 5 thousand souls, 100 thousand rubles from his office to build a house, silver service and paintings for decorating the rooms. The Empress also immortalized Rumyantsev’s victories with obelisk monuments in Tsarskoe Selo and St. Petersburg. He was even offered to “enter Moscow on a triumphal chariot through the ceremonial gates,” but Rumyantsev refused.
Rumyantsev and favorite
Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev reached the zenith of his fame. To the post of Governor-General of Little Russia, he added the posts of governor of Kursk and Kharkov, thanks to which he soon became the owner of a huge fortune and huge land holdings. At the same time, which is typical, the territories entrusted to his leadership successfully developed and did not fall into decay.
Article on the topic “Crimea is yours”. This is what Potemkin wrote to Catherine II back in 1782. With the outbreak of the new Russian-Turkish war in 1787, Rumyantsev was again appointed commander of the second army, this time under the commander main army Grigory Potemkin.
However, the new campaign did not bring glory to Rumyantsev - the 62-year-old military leader became very fat, became inactive, and was often sick. But most importantly, Rumyantsev did not have a good relationship with Potemkin. Peter Alexandrovich did not consider the empress’s favorite a professional military man and was burdened by subordination to him. Potemkin, in turn, dreamed of personal triumphs, on the way to which he considered Rumyantsev an obstacle.
In fact, thanks to Potemkin, Rumyantsev was deprived of any powers and was bound in his actions. In 1789, the field marshal submitted his resignation, which was granted.
Special honor
He left for Little Russia, to the Tashan estate, which he never left. In 1794, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army operating against Poland, but in reality this was a nominal appointment - Rumyantsev did not leave his estate.
He lived in complete solitude, not even accepting his own children, and died on December 19, 1796. The commander was buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Two episodes testify to Rumyantsev’s authority in Europe. The Austrian Emperor Joseph II always kept an extra utensil at his dinner table - as he said, for Rumyantsev, mentally believing him to be present at his meal.
When Field Marshal Rumyantsev arrived in Berlin in 1776, his old enemy, King Frederick II of Prussia, gave him a reception that no crowned person had ever received. In honor of the hero of Kunersdorf and Cahul, the regiments of the Prussian army marched in front, and the entire German generals were required to attend the military review.
(Peter Alexandrovich) - count, field marshal (1725-1796). His teacher, when he lived with his father in Little Russia, was a local teacher, Timofey Mikhailovich Senyutovich, who took a course first in the Chernigov “collegium”, and then studied “in foreign lands different languages"In 1740, we meet Rumyantsev already abroad, in Berlin, where he not only studied, but led a riotous and riotous life. Rumyantsev gained fame during the Seven Years' War. He commanded the cavalry in the battle of Gross-Jägersdorf and decided the matter; accepted participation in the campaign of 1758; participated in the Battle of Kunersdorf, forced Kolberg to surrender and with his successes aroused the envy of Field Marshal A. B. Buturlin. Peter III Rumyantsev enjoyed the special favor of the emperor. When Empress Catherine II ascended the throne, Rumyantsev, assuming that his career was over, submitted his resignation. Catherine kept him in the service, and in 1764, after the dismissal of Hetman Razumovsky, she appointed him governor-general of Little Russia, giving him extensive instructions according to which Rumyantsev was to contribute to a closer union of Little Russia with Russia in administrative terms. In 1765, Rumyantsev arrived in Little Russia and, having traveled around it, proposed that the Little Russian Collegium make a “general inventory” of Little Russia. This is how the famous Rumyantsev inventory arose (see). In 1767, a commission was convened in Moscow to draw up a code. Various classes of the Little Russian people also had to send their representatives to it. The policy of Catherine II, which Rumyantsev pursued, led to fears that requests for the preservation of Little Russian privileges might be submitted to the commission; Therefore, Rumyantsev carefully monitored the elections and the drawing up of orders, intervened in them and demanded harsh measures, as was the case, for example, when choosing a deputy from the nobility in the city of Nezhin. In 1768, when the Turkish war broke out, Rumyantsev was appointed commander of the second army, which was intended only to protect the Russian borders from attacks by the Crimean Tatars. But soon Empress Catherine, dissatisfied with the slowness of Prince A. M. Golitsyn (see), who commanded the 1st Army in the field, and not knowing that he had already managed to defeat the Turks and take possession of Khotin and Iasi, appointed Rumyantsev in his place. Despite his relatively weak forces and lack of food, Rumyantsev decided to act offensively. The first decisive battle took place on July 7, 1770 at Larga (see), where Rumyantsev with a 25,000-strong army defeated an 80,000-strong Turkish-Tatar corps. The name of Rumyantsev was even more glorified by the victory he won on July 21 over a ten times stronger enemy at Kagul (see) and elevated Rumyantsev to the ranks of the first commanders of the 18th century. After this victory, Rumyantsev followed on the heels of the enemy and successively occupied Izmail, Kiliya, Akkerman, Brailov, Isakcha, and Bendery. In 1771, Rumyantsev transferred military operations to the Danube, and in 1773, having ordered Saltykov to besiege Rushchuk and sending Kamensky and Suvorov to Shumla, he himself besieged Silistria, but, despite repeated private victories, he could not take possession of this fortress, just as like Varnoy, as a result of which he withdrew the army to the left bank of the Danube. In 1774, Rumyantsev with a 50,000-strong army opposed the 150,000-strong Turkish army, which, avoiding battle, concentrated on the heights near Shumla. Rumyantsev with part of his army bypassed the Turkish camp and cut off the vizier's communication with Adrianople, which caused such panic in the Turkish army that the vizier accepted all peace terms. This is how the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi peace was concluded (see), which delivered to Rumyantsev the field marshal’s baton, the name of the Transdanubian and other awards. The Empress immortalized Rumyantsev's victories with obelisk monuments in Tsarskoe Selo and St. Petersburg. and offered Rumyantsev “to enter Moscow on a triumphal chariot through the ceremonial gates,” but he refused. After the Turkish War, Rumyantsev returned to Little Russia again and gradually prepared for the introduction of all-Russian orders in it, which happened in 1782, with the extension of the institution of provinces to Little Russia. Rumyantsev's stay in Little Russia contributed to the consolidation in his hands of enormous land wealth, which was partly acquired by purchase, partly by grant. He died in the village and alone.
See Sakovich, "Historical Review of the Activities of Count Rumyantsev from 1775 to 1780"; D. Maslovsky, “Largo-Kahul operation of Count P. A. Rumyantsev” (materials for the biography of Count P. A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, “Kiev Starina”, 1895, vol. 48); A. M. Lazarevsky, “About one hundred years from the death of Count P. A. Rumyantsev” (“Kiev Antiquity”, 1896, vol. 55). Wed. Turkish wars of Russia.
In 1811, an anonymous collection of “anecdotes explaining the spirit of Field Marshal Rumyantsev” was published. It contains facts indicating that the famous commander vividly felt all the horrors of war. The same features of Rumyantsev were also attested by Derzhavin in the stanza of the ode “Waterfall” relating to Rumyantsev:
Blessed is when you strive for glory
He kept the common benefit
He was merciful in a bloody war
And he spared the lives of his enemies;
Blessed in the Late Ages
May this friend of men be.
Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (1725–1796)
According to legend, he was illegitimate son Peter I. The Tsar, who arranged the wedding of his orderly Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev, the future general-in-chief, with his frivolous mistress Countess Maria Andreevna Matveeva, and after this marriage showed great affection for her.
One way or another, Pyotr Alexandrovich really resembled the first Russian emperor, both in appearance and in many personal qualities. They were both distinguished by their talents as rulers and commanders, personal courage and thirst for knowledge. Like Peter, Rumyantsev, paying tribute to foreign military art, managed to bring into it a lot of his own, unborrowed. They were very similar in their passion for revelry and excesses, both surrendering to them with youthful ardor.
Rumyantsev was simply inexhaustible for fun. So, one day he decided to train soldiers in the costume of Adam in front of the house of a jealous husband. To another, having tempted his wife, the young reveler paid a double fine for the insult caused and on the same day again called the lady on a date, telling the cuckold that he could not complain, because “he had already received satisfaction in advance.” News of Rumyantsev's mischief reached the empress. But Elizaveta Petrovna did not take action herself, but out of respect for his father, Count Alexander Ivanovich, sent the culprit to him for reprisals.
To the credit of Pyotr Alexandrovich, even in his rank of colonel he was submissive to his father, like a small child. True, when Rumyantsev Sr. ordered the servant to bring the rod, the son tried to remind him of his high rank. “I know,” the father answered, “and I respect your uniform, but nothing will happen to him - and I will not punish the colonel.” Pyotr Alexandrovich obeyed. And then, as he himself said, when he was “considerably restrained, he shouted: “Hold, hold, I’m running away!”
Rumyantsev knew how not to lose his mind during sometimes risky amusements and amusement. Peter's career growth was rapid. He was promoted to colonel directly from captain: Elizaveta Petrovna was very pleased with the message he brought from the theater of military operations about the end of the war with Sweden of 1741–1743.
A series of his victories, and with them wide fame, came during the Seven Years' War. In the battle of Groß-Jägersdorf (on the territory of East Prussia) on August 19, 1757, at the most tense moment, the Prussians broke through the defense front of the Russian troops ( see essay about S.F. Apraksin). The situation was corrected by a sudden counterattack by the brigade of Major General Rumyantsev. Without the order of the Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal S.F. Apraksin’s regiments of Pyotr Aleksandrovich made their way through the forest, went to the rear of the Prussian infantry and inflicted such a strong blow on it that it “immediately went crazy and, after a cruel and bloody battle with a sufficient number of its troops in naive disorder, began to seek its salvation by flight.” Thus came victory.
Pyotr Alexandrovich also distinguished himself in the famous battle of Kunersdorf on August 1, 1759 ( see essay about P.S. Saltykov). The center he headed withstood the main blow of the Prussians and largely ensured the final success of the troops under the command of P.S. Saltykova.
And Rumyantsev’s first independent operation was the siege of Kolberg in 1761 ( see essay about A.B. Buturline). On December 5, at the head of a corps of 15 thousand people, he forced one of the most powerful naval fortresses in Europe on the Baltic to capitulate. The day before, Field Marshal A.B. Buturlin ordered Pyotr Alexandrovich to retreat, not believing in success due to the onset of late autumn. But the “favorite of glory” disobeyed and forced the enemy to surrender, which created the conditions for the capture of Pomerania and Brandenburg. Prussia stood on the brink of destruction.
When solving combat missions, the commander acted innovatively and boldly broke the outdated canons in military affairs. At Groß-Jägersdorf, his regiments secretly, through the forest and swamp, which were considered impenetrable, went to the rear of the Prussian troops and, firing only one volley, struck with bayonets. In the battle of Kolberg, Rumyantsev for the first time attacked enemy combat positions in battalion columns. In front of the columns, riflemen (jaegers) advanced in loose formation, firing effective rifle fire. In addition, he managed to successfully coordinate the actions of the ground forces and navy (the Russian squadron of A.I. Polyansky and Swedish ships), cavalry and infantry.
“The new principles he established at Kolberg,” the pre-revolutionary military historian D.F. wrote about Rumyantsev. Maslovsky,” were the starting points for the development under Catherine II of the foundations of Russian military art, established by Peter the Great, in his own spirit, “in accordance with the development of military affairs in Western Europe, but in accordance with the established features of Russian military art and in accordance with the conditions of Russian life.”
This is how Russia’s advanced military thought responded to the crisis of linear tactics that emerged during the Seven Years’ War. Saltykov’s first steps to abandon the outdated rules for constructing a linear order of battle were developed in the military art of Rumyantsev. A new tactic of infantry operations in columns and loose formation was emerging.
Rumyantsev was a favorite of Peter III, who promoted him to general-in-chief, and also awarded him the Orders of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Anne. During the palace coup that brought Catherine II to the throne, the commander sided with the legitimate emperor. But the new autocrat did not blame his “former favorite” and brought him closer to her.
In 1764, she abolished the hetmanate in Little Russia and established the Little Russian Collegium to govern the region ( see essay about K.G. Razumovsky). It was headed by Rumyantsev, who remained in this post for 30 years!
His administrative activities was interrupted by the outbreak of the war with Turkey of 1768–1774. Rumyantsev was promoted to his first roles after the Empress appointed him commander-in-chief of the 1st Army operating in the main Dniester-Bug direction in August 1769. The commander boldly abandoned the passive tactics of his predecessor Field Marshal A.M. Golitsyn. The strategy and tactics of warfare were defined by him himself in a formula that, more than two centuries later, is striking in its expressiveness and prophetic character: “Our glory and dignity cannot tolerate the presence of an enemy standing in sight of us without attacking him.”
Based on the experience of the Seven Years' War, the commander boldly moved from linear infantry tactics to column tactics (divisional squares) and loose formation. The dismemberment of the battle formation allowed him to widely use maneuver on the battlefield. The infantry, built in squares and columns, no longer felt the need for close elbow connections of all parts of the army, acted boldly and actively, showing complete independence in solving assigned tasks.
In the battles of 1770 near the Ryabaya Mogila mound, on the Larga (July 7) and Cahul (July 21) rivers, which ended triumphantly, Rumyantsev took full advantage of the new tactics. Under the cover of fire from the advanced detachments of rangers - riflemen operating in loose formation, he advanced the main forces to the battle area in several columns. This made it possible to quickly deploy them into battle formation and deliver a surprise blow to the enemy. At Larga and Kagul, the enemy tried to counterattack on horseback. The Russians were ready for this: artillery was located at the corners of the divisional square, and cavalry was located inside. The infantry and artillery repelled the Turkish attack with fire, and then the cavalry burst into the open space from behind the infantry. Both battles ended with the pursuit of a panicked enemy.
Rumyantsev described the first of the Victorias to the Empress: “On this day, i.e. July 7, having reached the enemy beyond the Larga River at the heights adjacent to the left bank of the Prut, the army of Your Imperial Majesty won the greatest victory over him. There were numerous Turks and Tatars here... and their entire army, up to 80 thousand, was considered so...
Although the enemy rushed to fight back with strong fire from his artillery and small guns, continuing for more than four hours, not a single force of the guns, nor his personal courage, which in this case should be given justice, stood up against the excellent courage of our soldiers...” At the same time, Russian losses - about 100 people - were 10 times less than the Turks.
Overwhelmed by the feelings of the victory, Catherine awarded Rumyantsev the highest military award of the Russian Empire, the only recently established Order of St. George the Victorious. “Count Pyotr Alexandrovich!..,” she wrote to the commander. “In my century you will undoubtedly occupy an excellent place as a wise, skillful and diligent leader. I consider it my duty to give you this justice and, so that everyone knows my way of thinking about you and my pleasure about your successes, I am sending you the Order of St. George, first class. At the same time, I am enclosing a register of those villages that the Senate will immediately order by decree to give to you forever and hereditarily.”
It is curious that Pyotr Aleksandrovich was awarded the order immediately of the 1st, i.e., the highest degree - such violations of the established order subsequently occurred extremely rarely, and very compelling reasons were required for them. An impressive victory over a vastly superior enemy was such a basis. Under the pretext that there might not be a gold seamstress in Moldova, but in fact as a sign of special affection, the Empress sent Rumyantsev her personal “forged Star of St. George, which I myself wear.”
The battle of the Cahul River turned out to be even more brilliant. 17 thousand Russians completely defeated 150 thousand Turks, while repelling 100 thousand Tatars who threatened from the rear. Rumyantsev, in his report, reported to Catherine: “Your Imperial Majesty’s army has never waged a battle with the Turks that was so cruel, nor so small in strength, as it was on this day... By the action of its artillery and rifle fire, and especially by the friendly reception of our brave soldiers with bayonets ... we hit the Turkish sword and fire with all our might and gained the upper hand over it...”
“For the faithful and diligent services rendered to Her Majesty and the Fatherland,” the Empress elevated Peter Alexandrovich to the rank of Field Marshal. Northern Minerva's trust in the newly minted field marshal was so complete that it gave Rumyantsev the right, if necessary, to act, without asking prior consent, on its behalf. Rare, it must be said, royal mercy!
Rumyantsev’s merits in the development of military art are indisputable. “There are many departments in which no traces of the influence of, for example, the great Suvorov and Potemkin are visible, but there is not a single department where there are no traces of Rumyantsev. In this sense, he is the only heir to the work of Peter I and the most prominent figure after him in the history of military art in Russia, who has no equal until later times,” military historians are unanimous in such a high assessment of the Field Marshal as a military theorist, administrator and commander past D.F. Maslovsky and A.A. Kersnovsky.
Peter Alexandrovich personified that breed of Russian people who, having become the support of Catherine II, raised the greatness of the Fatherland to unprecedented heights. It was about them, “Catherine’s eagles,” that A.S. spoke. Pushkin in the poem “Memories in Tsarskoe Selo”:
You are immortal forever, O Russian giants,
Trained in battle in the midst of harsh weather!
About you, companions, friends of Catherine,
Word will spread from generation to generation.
Oh, loud age of military disputes,
Witness to the glory of the Russians!
Have you seen how Orlov, Rumyantsev and Suvorov,
Descendants of the formidable Slavs,
Perun Zeus stole the victory;
The world marveled at their brave deeds.
In 1770, the commander, justifying his reputation as the greatest commander of his time and a reformer of military art, prepared the “Rite of Services” - a set of principles he developed for training and educating troops, building a battle formation and conducting offensive operations. A decisive battle with the obligatory destruction of enemy personnel is what, according to Rumyantsev, can ensure victory. But he did not consider the offensive, which boiled down only to the movement of troops, as an end in itself. “Without securing the space reliably left behind you, you cannot advance forward with large steps,” he said with conviction. "Rite of Services" on long years became in fact the charter of the entire Russian army.
Pyotr Alexandrovich has another service of fundamental importance to domestic weapons: It was under his wing that Suvorov’s military genius strengthened. In the campaigns of 1773–1774, being subordinate to Rumyantsev, the future generalissimo won his first high-profile victories in the confrontation with the Turks - he took the Turtukai fortress and, with the help of an 8,000-strong division, defeated a 40,000-strong enemy army near the village of Kozludzhi (modern Bulgarian territory) ( see essay about A.V. Suvorov).
At the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi peace on July 10, 1774, which became a great success for Russia, Rumyantsev was given due honors: he received an honorary prefix to his surname - Zadunaysky, a field marshal's baton and sword decorated with diamonds, diamond insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, diamond laurel wreath and olive branch “for victories and the conclusion of peace.”
“This world is a most famous service to us and the fatherland,” the empress wrote to him. - Lent to you (i.e. obliged. - Yu.R.) Russia for a glorious and profitable peace, which, due to the well-known tenacity of the Ottoman Porte, of course no one expected, and could not expect...”
“In honor of him and as an example to posterity,” a medal with the image of the count was knocked out. Catherine wished that Transdanubian, following the example of the ancient Roman commanders, would enter the capital through the triumphal gates in a chariot. The modest hero, accustomed to camp life, refused such honors and even more so showed himself to be great in the eyes of his compatriots.
But even the great cannot escape the fate of mere mortals. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1787–1791. They did not dare to bypass Rumyantsev directly, but they entrusted him with leadership of the armies only nominally. Catherine nominated His Serene Highness Prince G.A. for the first roles. Potemkin.
Peter Alexandrovich, who outlived Catherine by only one month, passed away on December 8, 1796. In memory of his great services to the Fatherland, Paul I declared three days of mourning in the army. Rumyantsev rested within the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
In his honor, in 1799, an obelisk was erected on the Champ de Mars in St. Petersburg - a unique phenomenon, because before that Russia had not known monuments to uncrowned persons.
His reputation as a great commander and military reformer was generally recognized during his lifetime. When General F.V. Rostopchin, in a letter to Suvorov, rated him higher than Zadunaysky, Alexander Vasilyevich categorically objected: “No... Suvorov is a student of Rumyantsev!”
Remarkably expressed the general opinion about the commander in his characteristic epic manner G.R. Derzhavin:
Blessed when striving for glory,
He kept the common benefit,
He was merciful in a bloody war
And he spared the lives of his enemies;
Blessed in the Late Ages
May this friend of men be.
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Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky Pyotr Aleksandrovich fell to one of the most difficult tasks - in the conditions of dominance in the Russian army of foreigners and admirers of Western European military doctrine, persistently fight for the revival and development in Russia of advanced views on military affairs. Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev (“Russian Belisarius”) became Russia’s first great military leader and administrator rolled into one.
The son of Peter I's associate A.I. Rumyantsev was enrolled in the guard as a child, in 1740 he was promoted to officer and during the Russian-Swedish war of 1741-1743. was in the active army under his father. He brought the text of the Abos peace treaty of 1743 to St. Petersburg, for which he received the rank of colonel and was appointed commander of an infantry regiment. During the Seven Years' War, he successfully commanded a brigade near Gross-Jägersdorf (1757) and a division in the Battle of Kunersdorf. Commanding the corps, he led the siege and capture of the Kolberg fortress (1761).
Rumyantsev's activities as a commander largely determined the development of Russian military art in the 2nd half. XVIII - beginning XIX centuries IN European countries in the second half of the 18th century. The so-called cordon strategy with linear tactics of troops continued to dominate. This meant that the commanders distributed troops with cordons (barriers) evenly along the entire front line. The troops were maneuvering, the war was going on to exhaust the enemy’s forces. Fortresses were considered the main points of defense. On the battlefield, armies were lined up in two lines, each of which had three ranks: infantry in the center, cavalry on the sides, and artillery between them. Large reserves and regiments in reserve were not left, since it was believed that their introduction into battle would disrupt the formation and interfere with the lines’ movement. The cordon strategy was born in Germany, and the famous Prussian army of Frederick II the Great adhered to it.
An integral part of this strategy, and indeed the entire Prussian military school there was strict discipline among the soldiers. The troops were literally trained, ensuring that the general's orders were strictly followed by the officers, and the officers' orders by the soldiers. The private initiative of officers, and even more so of privates, was perceived as an offense for which it should be punished. “A soldier should fear the corporal’s stick more than the enemy,” this formula of the enlightened King Frederick II clearly shows what the emphasis was on when training and educating troops.
Under Peter III, a passionate admirer of Frederick II, in Russia they tried to organize the Russian army according to Prussian principles, which in many respects diverged from the foundations of the Russian regular army laid by Peter I. The victories of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War caused a skeptical attitude of the Russian military towards the Prussian military school.
General P.A. Rumyantsev began to abandon the cordon doctrine and linear tactics. He was the first to gather troops into a strike group on a decisive sector of the front. In the field command of troops, Rumyantsev carried out reasonable decentralization, trusting commanders to make decisions independently, encouraging the private initiative of officers and soldiers in achieving victory over the enemy. Rumyantsev’s views were shared by the majority of prominent Russian military men: Orlov, Potemkin and, of course,.
This strategy gave brilliant results during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. The Russian army under the command of Rumyantsev (up to 38 thousand people) in June 1770 defeated the Turks (70 thousand people) at Ryabaya Mogila. And then she won brilliant victory at the confluence of the Larga and the Prut. Russia's opponents left about 1,000 people killed on the battlefield, while Russian losses amounted to 29 people.
However, Rumyantsev won his biggest victory near the river. Cahul. With only 27 thousand soldiers and 118 guns, he completely defeated the 150 thousand strong Turkish army with 150 guns. The success of the Russian army was due to the fact that Rumyantsev ignored the rules linear construction. He advanced the main forces to the battlefield in several columns under the cover of advanced detachments. This made it possible to strike the Turks with such force that they did not expect. To repel a possible attack by the Turkish cavalry, the Russians formed a special battle formation - a divisional square ( rectangular construction infantry, artillery was installed in its corners, and cavalry were located inside).
For these victories, General Rumyantsev was awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree, and promoted to field marshal. Later, for actions on the river. Danube, he was awarded the title of Count of Transdanubia.
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