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Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Russian general and prince of Georgians origin, prominent during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Kizlyar.Pluchart (1835), pp. 60–61 His father, Ivan (Ivane), served as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, in which Bagration also enlisted in 1782. Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration began his military career serving in the Russo-Circassian War of 1763–1864. He later participated in a war against the Ottomans and the capture of Ochakov in 1788. Later, he helped suppress the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 in Poland and capture Warsaw. During Russia's Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799 against the French, he served with distinction under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov.
In 1805, Russia joined the coalition against Napoleon. After the collapse of the Austrians at Ulm in October 1805, Bagration won praise for his successful defense in the Battle of Schöngrabern (November 1805) that allowed Russian forces to withdraw and unite with the main Russian army of Mikhail Kutuzov. In December 1805, the combined Russo-Austrian army suffered defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz, where Bagration commanded the allied right wing against the French under Jean Lannes. He commanded Russian troops in the Finnish War (1808–1809) against Sweden and in another war against the Turks (1806–1812) on the Danube.
During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Bagration commanded one of two large Russian armies (Barclay de Tolly commanded the other) fighting a series of rear-guard actions. The Russians failed to stop the French advance at the Battle of Smolensk in August 1812. Barclay had proposed a scorched-earth retreat that the emperor Alexander I of Russia had approved, although Bagration preferred to confront the French in a major battle. Kutuzov succeeded Barclay as commander-in-chief but continued his policy until the Battle of Borodino () near Moscow. Bagration commanded the left wing around what became known as the Bagration flèches at Borodino, where he was mortally wounded; he died two weeks later. Originally buried at a local church, in 1839 he was reburied on the battlefield of Borodino.
Pyotr joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1782, enlisting as a sergeant in the Kavsansk Rifles of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment. His younger brother Roman Bagration joined the Chuguev Cossack regiment as a uryadnik (a Cossack NCO) at the age of thirteen in 1791. Both would go on to become generals of the Imperial Russian Army.
Bagration served for some years in the Russian-Circassian War. He participated in the Siege of Ochakov (1788). In 1792, he was commissioned as a captain and transferred to the Kiev Cavalry Regiment that year as a second Major, transferring as a full first Major to the Sofiiskii Carabineers on 15 May 1794. He served in the military campaign to suppress the Polish Kościuszko Uprising of 1794.
He received successive promotions to lieutenant-colonel (26 October 1794), to colonel (1798) and to major-general (1799). His merits were recognized by Suvorov, whom he accompanied in the Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799, capturing the towns of Brescia and Bergamo (21 and 24 Apr) and having fought along the Adda River (on 26 Apr), near the Trebbia River (on 17–19 Jun), at the town of Novi (15 Aug), at the Gotthard Pass (24 Sep), in the Klön Valley (30 Sep to 1 Oct), near Glarus (1 Oct) and at Schwanden (5 Oct). From 1798 to 1799, he commanded the 6th Jaegers; from 1801 to 1802, he commanded the Jaegers of the Imperial Guard; then from 1802 to 1805, he served as GOC Jaeger Brigade.
He was the alleged lover of Emperor Paul's daughter Catherine. In 1800 Paul recognized the title of "Prince ( Knyaz) Bagration" for Pyotr in Russia, and unexpectedly married him off to Countess Catherine Pavlovna Skavronskaya, the favourite niece of Grigory Potemkin and one of the Empress Maria's ladies-in-waiting. Bagration and Catherine had been casually involved, but the marriage was a failure. The young and lovely Catherine soon preferred travelling and, in 1805, fled to Vienna, where her salon and running affair with Prince Clemens von Metternich—who called her "the Naked Angel"—permitted her to serve as an important agent of Russian intelligence and diplomacy. Bagration was obliged by the emperor to claim their daughter, Marie-Clementine, as his own and to subsidize thousands of rubles of Catherine's debts. He had a reputation as a heavy gambler, as well, and was forced to sell estates to cover losses that rose as high as 80,000 roubles.
In the wars of 1805, Bagration's achievements appeared even more brilliant. When Napoleon ordered Joachim Murat to break an armistice he had just signed with Bagration, the general was able to successfully resist the repeated attacks of forces five times his own numbers under Murat and Jean Lannes at Schöngrabern (16 November) near Hollabrunn. Though Bagration lost half of the men under his command, their stand protected the retreat of the main army under Kutuzov to Olomouc. When Kutuzov was overruled and forced into battle at Austerlitz (2 December), Bagration commanded the advance guard of the Prince Liechtenstein's column and defended the allied right against Lannes while the left attacked Napoleon's deliberately undefended right flank. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1805, and in 1807 fought bravely and obstinately at the battles of Eylau (7 February), Heilsberg (11 June), and Friedland (14 June).
He was successful as commander of both Russia's Finnish War in 1808 and Turkish Campaign in 1809. In the former, he captured the Åland Islands by a daring march across the frozen Gulf of Finland. His rapid transfer to the distant front against the Ottoman Empire has been seen as a reprimand for an alleged affair with the tsarevna Catherine, who was married off shortly thereafter. While there, he led the Russian army at Rassowa and Tataritza and was promoted to full general of infantry.
In 1812, Bagration commanded the Second Western Army. A few days before Napoleon's invasion on 24 June, he suggested to Alexander I a pre-emptive strike into the Duchy of Warsaw. Defeated at Mogilev (23 July), Bagration led his forces to join the 1st Army at Smolensk under Barclay de Tolly, to whom he ceded overall command of both armies on 2 August. Bagration led the left wing at the Battle of Borodino (7 September) where he constructed many flèches which, due to a shortage of engineer officers, were poorly built. During the battle, he received a mortal wound and later died from gangrene on 24 September, in the village of Simi, where his aunt resided.
It is said that, while wounded, Bagration kept giving orders to the troops without knowing that the Russian army was abandoning Moscow. When he finally heard the truth, Bagration was so shocked that he rapidly stood up, totally forgetting about his grave wound. Such an act was too much for his severely wounded body, and it quickly cost Bagration his life.
In 1946, Soviet authorities renamed the town of Preußisch Eylau Bagrationovsk in honour of Pyotr Bagration and of his remarkable skills as a tactician.
The main assault was to be carried out by a daring march across the frozen Gulf of Bothnia from Turku, reaching and capturing the heavily fortified Åland, which were garrisoned by about 10,000 Swedish troops, before continuing on the frozen Sea towards Stockholm. Bagration carefully planned his campaign and managed to supply his troops with fresh food, warm clothes, ammunition and weapons.
The expedition was ready on 26 February (10 March) 1809 and began the next day. The offensive against the Åland was carried out in five attack columns: four engaged in a frontal assault while the fifth bypassed Åland from the south. The Swedish troops did not put up much resistance, preferring to retreat to the major Åland island, from where they intended to stop Bagration's advance. To do so, the Swedish commander-general Carl von Döbeln proposed negotiations for an armistice. Bagration refused, convinced that the sole purpose of von Döbeln's offer was to delay his movements. After completing negotiations, he ordered his troops to advance at an even faster pace. Fearing an encirclement, General von Döbeln abandoned Åland. Pursued by Bagration's troops, the retreat quickly turned into a devastating rout, leaving ammunition, weapons and equipment behind.
To intimidate the Swedes, Bagration ordered a 400-man cavalry detachment under Major General Yakov Kulnev to pursue the Swedes to their own shores. Kulnev managed to take the Swedish town of Grisslehamn, which was just 70 km away from Stockholm. This unexpected turn of events brought shock and confusion to the Swedish leadership and population, who were surprised to hear of Russian troops on Swedish soil. Stockholm was fortified and an army quickly put together and sent to intercept an enemy that was not actually there. The plan worked beyond Bagration's expectations as the psychological impact of Kulnev's incursion into Sweden was decisive for the course of the entire war. Simultaneously the other Russian corps also reached their goals so that the Swedish side found itself forced into peace talks after losing all its claims in Finland. Bagration was highly praised for his conduct of the campaign and was promoted to full general of infantry.
Despite massive losses among the French, their rapid advance by force march towards Moscow repeatedly prevented de Tolly from establishing a defensive position and was forced to retreat every time he intended to. The commander in chief refused to put up a fight despite Bagration's numerous urging. De Tolly's continuing resistance to give battle would later lead to his removal from his position.
Bagration then also wrote letters to General Vassilichikov and General Karpov regarding the allocations and general information about the best Cossack and Hussar units available. On the request of Davydov he provided the vice colonel a copy of his map of the Smolensk province and when parting wished the young officer the best of luck, and also hoped for his success. His confidence would soon be emphasized when the guerrilla movement developed wide scope. Soon, besides Davydov's movement, other groups emerged: those of General Dorokhov, Captain Fisher, Captain Seslavin, Colonel Kudashev and many others. These groups successfully strove against the French, combining their activities with those of peasant guerrilla groups. Bagration became the author of the first real tactical instructions for such activities and one of the founders of the Russian guerrilla movement against Napoleon.
While advancing, Davout's divisions were hit hard by massed Russian artillery, which was deployed on the other side of the Kolcha to support Bagration's lines and also by Russian jaeger units that were deployed in front of the fortifications. The French troops suffered heavy casualties before they could reach their objective and the undertaking was about to fall apart when Davout saw his troops retreating and rushed forward to personally lead the charge. With the second attempt he managed to take the southernmost flèche at 7 am. But in response Bagration ordered Raevsky and his 7th Corps once more to confront Davout, only this time the French were struck on their flank and thrown back for the second time. Napoleon already held Bagration in high esteem, calling him the best the Russians could possibly throw against him, but was surprised by the stiff resistance he offered. While Napoleon reinforced Davout with Marshal Michel Ney and officer Junot for a third attack, Bagration repositioned his troops and deployed his reserves, the 2nd Grenadier and 2nd Cuirassier divisions.
The 3rd Infantry Division was still held in reserve at Semyenovskoe for the possibility that the French might try to outflank him. Kutuzov, who observed the heavy fighting at the flèches, was sending the 2nd and parts of the 5th Infantry Corps with 100 guns from his artillery reserve, but their arrival would take one to two hours, which meant that Bagration was on his own. Napoleon demanded that the flèches be taken at all costs, and opened the third offensive with a massive artillery bombardment, followed by a simultaneous infantry and cavalry assault. At first the French managed to occupy the right and far left flèche but were again driven out by Bagration's troops. Marshal Poniatowski, who had the task of enveloping the Russians and striking Bagration's rear with his cavalry corps, was also defeated by Tuchkov's 3rd Infantry Corps. The defenders restored their positions at 9 am. Failing for a third time, Napoleon became furious and now also added Marshal Murat to the operation, launching a fourth assault at 9 am. This time Napoleon's forces were not only able to drive Bagration's forces out of the flèches but also captured Semyenovskoe.
By this time however, the 2nd and 5th corps sent earlier by Kutuzov for Bagration's aid finally arrived and Bagration threw all available forces against the French, repulsing them completely from all occupied positions and inflicting heavy losses. After that, three more French attacks were repelled in a row, General Tuchkov being killed in the fifth assault. Despite the mounting casualties, Napoleon continued to assault Bagration's position. His troops were hit not only by musket fire but also canister shot from artillery at close range. Heaps of corpses and wounded prevented the cavalry and infantry from manoeuvring properly on the battlefield. Napoleon considered sending his elite Imperial Guard to bolster the morale of his troops but hesitated, not willing to risk it being torn apart as well. At noon, the French launched their eighth assault, with around 45,000 men supported by 400 guns against the defending 18,000 Russians and their 300 guns. Bagration decided to meet the attackers boldly in what led to a long and brutal melee, probably the bloodiest scene during the entire battle, described by the historian Buturlin as follows:
Bagration ordered his entire force to counterattack, but was seriously outnumbered and slowly driven back. The French 57th Line Infantry Regiment kept attacking the flèches, even though it was almost completely torn to pieces by musket fire from all directions. Their courageous behaviour earned two "Bravo" shouts from Bagration, and it was then that the 2nd commander-in chief was struck by shell splinters in his leg.. His subordinates quickly carried him to a safe place away from the fight while trying to conceal what had happened, but Bagration's absence was soon noticed. Rumours of him being killed spread and the morale of his troops began to increasingly waver. Bagration, now unable to control the situation, insisted on not being moved from the field until the battle was decided, hoping for the success of the 2nd Cuirassier Division of General Duka. The Cuirassiers managed to defeat the forces of Marshal Ney but the news of Bagration being hit quickly spread and brought confusion and morale collapse within the 2nd Army. Its management broke down so that the Russian forces were starting to abandon their positions in the chaos and to retreat from the overwhelming French assault. The Bagration flèches were abandoned and left to the French, but it had cost them a huge price. From the 60,000 French soldiers who participated in the operation, about 30,000 were killed or wounded. Russian casualties were also high, but fewer. The battle, however, ended inconclusively, with both sides returning to their initial deployment zones. The battle drained from Napoleon his last fighting capabilities and resources and finally forced him to abandon his plan of forcing Russia into a second Tilsit when he entered an empty Moscow..
– Дата публикации: 27.03.2023. – Дата обновления: 14.04.2023
Bagration's strategic views defined also his insights about the character of tactical military action. It is possible to discern these insights by considering the famous order to the forces of the 2nd Western Army, dated 25 June 1812. In the order, written by Bagration with his own hand, instructions were given concerning actions to be taken against the French armies if they invaded Russian territory. He wrote:
Attacks were to be conducted with troops formed in columns:
Bagration recommended deployment of the forces in a battle array that was not too closely packed, but sufficiently so as to permit soldiers to feel each other's presence with their elbows. In case of counter-attacks by enemy cavalry, Bagration advised the use of battalion masses and squares, or carrés. "When the enemy cavalry attacks infantry, it takes only a minute to form either a column closed on all sides, or a battalion in a carré."
With the purpose of increasing the enthusiasm of armies, all attacks were to be made with a shout, and during the approach the drums were to be beaten and music to be played.
Similar insights are reflected in a number of Bagration's other orders, instructions, and letters. In particular, as characteristic of his tactical perspective, the "Manual for Infantry Officers on the Day of Battle" may serve as an example. This document was prepared on the basis of the "Manual to Officers of the Narva infantry Regiment," authored by M.S. Vorontsov in 1812. According to military historian P. Simansky, Vorontsov's manual "was strongly influenced by Suvorov's precepts, and was appraised by the most favorite disciple of Suvorov, Prince Bagration; it was slightly corrected by him, as in some places it concerned only Narva infantry Regiment, and then in July 1812 it was dispatched to all units of the 2nd Army." The "Manual to Infantry Officers on the Day of Battle" recognized the offensive as the fundamental form of combat. The principal manifestation of offensive combat was the bayonet attack, concluded with a vigorous pursuit of the defeated enemy. This manual considered in detail the question of action in separate lines and in columns and about conducting aimed fire. The necessity of maintaining close communication of skirmishers with their columns was specified; movement forward was to be determined only by an order of the chief of division or battalion. If it was necessary to operate on separate lines in forests, it was suggested to hold a reserve behind one of the flanks in order to have an opportunity to suddenly envelope the flank of a counter-attacking enemy.
Attacks by enemy cavalry acting in separate lines were to be met by fire, after allowing the enemy to advance to within approximately 150 paces; after that it would be necessary to divide into small groups of ten and repulse the enemy by fire and bayonets until the approach of reinforcements. Upon approaching, reinforcements were to be redeployed from a column into square, firing on enemy cavalry from a distance of 150 paces. The "Manual" demanded that officers demonstrate constant care for their soldiers, to remind them of their duties and their oath, to explain what was required of them during military action. Special attention was given to the maintenance of trust in the virtue of "Russian bayonets", a spirit of boldness, courage and persistence in the fight. "Persistence and courage," declared the "Manual", "have won more battles than all other military talents taken altogether."
Dissemination of all rumors of disaster and panic, such as "We are cut off!", were categorically forbidden, under the threat of severe punishment. It was specified in the "Manual" that: "Brave people are never cut off; wherever the enemy goes, turn your breast to follow and defeat him." Thus, in the field of tactics, as well as in the field of strategy, Bagration acted as an innovator, a convinced supporter of decisive offensive action. He doggedly introduced advanced tactics; he dispensed with obsolete positional tactics and applied tactics of columns in a combination with separate lines. Paying great attention to the value of offensive combat, Bagration at the same time did not reject the opportunity to conduct defensive operations. He creatively approached planning for his assigned tasks, applying such forms of combat as provided exactly the right answers to particular circumstances. His practical legacy offers experience rich in the conduct of offensive battles as well as the development and practice of waging both advance and rear guard fights.
Bagration was the unsurpassed master of organization of these extremely complex kinds of action. It was not by chance that, at the most crucial moments of the wars of 1799–1807, it was Bagration who was appointed to command the rear guards and advance guards of the Russian Army. The engagements conducted by Russian armies under Bagration's leadership during the Italian campaign of 1799, and also the advance and rear guard combats during the Swiss Campaign of 1799 and war between of Russia and France in 1805–1807, belong among the finest accomplishments in Russian military art. Bagration built a process of education and training of soldiers on the basis of the system developed by A.V. Suvorov. He paid great attention to the training and education of troops to develop soldiers with courage and initiative, capable of carrying out orders quickly and skillfully.
Bagration constantly worried about his soldiers' health, taking measures so that they'd be well clothed and timely fed. S.G. Volkonsky, who during the Franco-Russian conflict of 1806–1807 was frequently in Bagration's group, wrote:
While showing concern for the soldiers, Bagration at the same time demanded the maintenance of the strictest military discipline, considering it to be the foundation of military ability. "In military service," he wrote, "the first objective is order, subordination, discipline, unanimity and friendship". Above all, Bagration was extremely demanding of himself. "...To execute the will of the sovereign, of the emperor and my commanders is the most sacred obligation which I follow and obey at every step of my service... I love soldiers, I respect their bravery, and equally I demand order and discipline." Armies under Bagration's command were always distinguished for their high discipline, and, in some sense, this was one of the main reasons for their brilliant victories over their enemies.
He is a secondary character in Leo Tolstoy's epic 1869 novel War and Peace. In the 1960s Russian movie War and Peace, he is played by Giuli Chokhonelidze, who repeated the role in the 1985 Russian biopic Bagrationi. In the 2016 BBC TV adaptation of War and Peace, he is played by Pip Torrens.
Tsar Nicholas I had a monument erected in his honour on the battlefield of Borodino. The general's remains were transferred to the place where he had fallen and remain there to this day. The grave was blown up during World War II (reputedly, the local museum authorities were able to save only shreds of bone and cloth from the grave) but has since then been restored.
Joseph Stalin chose Bagration as the name of the Soviet offensive launched on 22 June 1944 that defeated the German Army Group Centre and drove the forces of Nazi Germany out of what is now Belarus. After the war, the Soviet Union annexed northern East Prussia, and the until-then German town of Preußisch Eylau—the scene of the 1807 battle—was renamed Bagrationovsk in his memory.
An asteroid 3127 Bagration is named after Prince Bagration.
In Moscow, the Bagrationovskaya Moscow Metro station, Bagration pass in Filyovsky Park District and the Bagration Bridge, which commemorates the 850th year of the city, were named in his honour. Many streets across the different cities in Russia also hold his name.
In August 2023, a new highway near Kutuzovsky Prospekt, was named Bagration Avenue.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, at least 15 ships were associated with the name of P.I. Bagration.Patriotic War of 1812 about the liberation campaigns of the Russian Army of 1813–1814. Sources. Monuments. Problems. Materials of the XXIII International Scientific Conference, 3–5 September 2019. Borodino, 2020. // S. Yu. Rychkov. The historical memory about the participants of the Borodino battle in the names of ships. pp. 302–329.
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