Alexander Suvorov is the most famous commander in all of Russian military history. All the battles and battles held by him, and there are about six dozen of them, ended in victory. After Suvorov’s death, his followers, inspired by the military successes of their mentor, also became famous figures, the most famous among them are P. Rumyantsev, M. Kutuzov, P. Bagration, M. Miloradovich, M. Platov, M. Dragomirov and many other famous Russian military men holding high posts. The name of Suvorov was and will remain a symbol of honor, valor and glory of the Russian army.
Curriculum Vitae
The commander Suvorov was brought up in a military family, his father, Vasily Ivanovich Suvorov, was an general-general and knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Already at the age of 13, little Alexander was enlisted as a soldier in the Semenovsky regiment, and his training took place in the Ground Cadet Corps. But the main thing for the development of the future genius commander was still his father, who was also personally involved in the education of his son.
First fights
The biography of Suvorov, a brief summary of which shows how much the young man strove to learn all the features of military affairs, shows that even a person with poor health managed to achieve honor and respect. A gifted young man spent all his time studying military history, engineering and artillery. By exemplary service and diligence, young Suvorov managed to independently advance through the ranks and seek new ranks. At first, the future generalissimo served in junior posts, and in 1754 he was appointed to the post of officer in the Ingermanland Infantry Regiment.
The exploits of Suvorov began immediately, as soon as he embarked on the battles. He received his first military experience during the Seven Years War. He later took part in the Battle of Zirndorf, in the famous battle of Kunersdorf and in the capture of the Kohlberg Fortress.
Career advancement
After the first successful battles, Suvorov won the post of colonel in 1762. He was appointed commander in the Astrakhan infantry regiment, and a little later, in 1763, he also became commander in the Suzdal infantry regiment.
For six years of his work in these regiments, he created his own individual training system for future military men. In his studies, the Russian commander Suvorov combined intense combat training with respect for his subordinates. The then Colonel’s motto was “Eye, quickness, onslaught.”
During his first commander’s experience, the colonel, who will become a famous commander, managed to create his own approach, combining intelligence and eccentricity, commanding rigor and drill with a human attitude to ordinary soldiers, unpretentiousness with education.
Polish battle
In the period from 1768 to 1772, Suvorov with his Suzdal regiment was in Poland, where the Russian military fought against the Confederates. Once on the territory of Poland, the colonel set himself the task of stopping the rebellions aimed at overthrowing the then King of the Commonwealth in order to establish a peaceful situation on Polish lands.
Alexander Vasilyevich considered the Poles to be friendly people and made sure that physical force was not used against them in any way, but rather that there was respectful treatment of local residents. With skillful leadership and the right tactics, the colonel managed to ensure security in most of the Polish territory. Suvorov’s biography proves that he was an absolute expert in his field, and the number of awards he received only confirms this. The first in a series of orders of Suvorov was the award he received precisely after the Polish campaign. It was the Order of St. George of the 3rd degree, although by status he was entitled to the 4th degree.
Under the command of Rumyantsev
Returning to Russia, Suvorov sought to go to war in Turkey, but Catherine II decided that it would be more rational to send a young budding military to Finland on the Russian-Swedish border in order to study the military-political situation and the state of defense there.
In 1773, Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed to the 1st Army of Peter Rumyantsev, which operated on the Danube. For two months, he actively participated in combat raids, in one of which he decided to act at his discretion, despite the commander’s ban, and took Turtukay.
Count Peter Rumyantsev wanted to impose a punishment for the young wayward general. But Catherine II opposed such measures, on the contrary, decided to reward the brave military man and awarded him a new order, this time - it was St. George the 2nd degree.
Turkish and Pugachev Uprising
In the fall of 1773, the commander Suvorov was appointed commander of the defense of Girsovo, where he managed to regain positions and push Turkish troops back from the city. Six months later, in June 1774, Alexander Vasilievich, in collaboration with General Mikhail Fedotovich Kamensky, fought at Kozludzha, where they managed to defeat the 40,000th Turkish army. Despite the fact that both military men had no sympathy for each other, and their relationship was strained, they managed to act in concert and harmoniously.
A month later, on July 10, the position of the Russian army in the war was consolidated thanks to the signing of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace. The golden sword inlaid with diamonds became the award that Alexander Suvorov received in honor of such an event.
A brief biography of the commander shows that in his life there were no periods of calm, he spent all the time on the battlefield. Already in August of that year, Suvorov was sent by Catherine II to suppress the Pugachev riot. Soon he obeyed the order of the tsarina and went to fight, but by the time Alexander Vasilievich arrived, the troops of Peter Ivanovich Panin had already struck Pugachev’s army, and the only thing left for the young military was to escort the prisoner to Simbirsk.
1774 - 1786
The exploits of Suvorov in this period are very significant. At this time, he was in command of the armies located in southern Russia. Thus, he helped Count Potemkin, who was engaged in strengthening the newly acquired territories.
Alexander Vasilievich was engaged in the creation of a fortified line in the Kuban and the improvement of the Crimean defense. In 1778, thanks to the skillful command of a brilliant military officer, the landing of a Turkish landing in one of the Odessa bays was prevented.
During this period, he was promoted to the rank of general-chief and awarded two serious orders: St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Vladimir 1st degree.
Continuation of the Turkish campaign
Alexander Suvorov, whose biography shows that for him there were no barriers to achieving his goal, entered the battle with the Turkish troops at the age of 56 years. But it was here that he managed to show all his genius as a commander. Despite his advanced years, the great commander managed to maintain the excitement and courage that would help him on the road to victory. When the battles began, the commander was given command of the 30,000th army, which defended the coast in the Kherson-Kinburn area. He defeated a large enemy army, the Turkish fleet on the
Kinburn Spit and completely destroyed the board of enemies. The main reason for the victory was the fact that the commander Suvorov was at the head of the army. The biography of this great man proves that even at an age when people prefer to stay away from war, Suvorov continued to win.
It is noteworthy that after this battle Alexander Vasilievich was awarded at the request of Count Potemkin himself. In his petition to Catherine, the count indicated that he was ready to give him his order, if only he would receive the highest military award - St. Andrew the First-Called.
Wound near Ochakov
In 1788, Suvorov became a member of the Yekaterinoslav army under the command of Potemkin, who during that period was engaged in the siege of Ochakov. The capture of this region was very slow, and Alexander Suvorov compared this siege to the capture of Troy. In one of the attacks, the commander was seriously injured and forced to leave military service for several months.
In 1789, Alexander Vasilievich returned to active participation in the hostilities of the army of Potemkin, who by that time had already commanded the combined army, and became the head of the Repin troops, which were on the territory of Bessarabia and Moldova.
Biography of Suvorov has many victories. Another of them took place on July 21, when the brilliant commander, with the support of the Austrian allies, dealt a crushing blow to the army of Osamn Pasha in Fokshany.
Almost a month later, on September 11, Generalissimo Suvorov succeeded, defeating the Russian-Austrian forces, in defeating the Turkish troops, which were four times superior in numbers. This victory only once again showed how brilliant commander Alexander Suvorov was. A brief biography of the commander also tells about brilliant tactics. The Russian-Austrian army, which was under his command, attacked immediately with two columns, the first was the Russian general-general, and the second was the Austrian prince.
For this victory on the Rymnik River, the commander received the Order of St. George of the 1st degree and was honored to be called Count Rymniksky. A further biography of the commander Suvorov, briefly describing even some of his personal habits, tells us that in all his subsequent battles on his neck you could see his beloved cross - George Rymnik.
Storming the fortress in Izmail
In the fall of 1790, Potemkin ordered Suvorov to go to Ishmael and prepare to storm the fortress. The commander had at his disposal a 35,000-strong army and fortifications constructed according to the designs of French engineers. It took Alexander Vasilyevich only two weeks to prepare for the assault, and on December 11, thanks to the coordinated work of the Suvorov army, the Turkish monastery fell.
Suvorov's biography is full of a lot of information regarding this battle, only one detail remains unclear. After such a feat, the commander was awarded the next title - Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guard, and an engraving depicting Suvorov's profile was embossed in his honor. Despite the fact that Alexander Vasilievich was awarded such high praise from the tsarina, disputes still continue to continue why the commander did not become the owner of the field marshal’s rank, because the heroic capture of the Izmail fortress depended to a large extent on him. Most chroniclers believe that Count Potemkin decided to leave his best general in the shadows, and to gain fame and regalia instead.
Despite such unconfirmed information, Suvorov was very saddened by the death of his mentor and teacher in military affairs, which occurred only a year later. After all, Alexander Vasilievich was for him a man with remarkable state abilities, which the commander greatly respected.
This victory brought Suvorov not only an appointment to a new rank, but also honor and respect far beyond the borders of Russia. This assault was an excellent example of a quickly prepared attack by the enemy’s fortress, which was carried out not only by ground forces, but also by the river flotilla.
After the completion of the Turkish campaign
Alexander Suvorov, whose biography is interesting even to people who are not related to military affairs, and in old age did not leave his post. After the end of the war with Turkey, Alexander Vasilievich took up command of formations in Finland and in southern Russia, was engaged in the creation of border fortifications.
Later in 1794, when Suvorov was already 64 years old, the empress sent him to Poland to curb the uprising under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The Empress placed all her hopes on him and turned out to be right. The ingenious commander managed to win again, he took Warsaw. What is important in this battle, Alexander Vasilyevich acted decisively, but made sure that civilians remained safe. After such a victory, he was granted the rank of Field Marshal.
Heritage
The commander Suvorov, whose photo for obvious reasons does not exist, was captured in several portraits in which you can see a man of fragile physique, but with an aristocratic bearing.
For future generations, he wrote a book called The Science of Victory, in which he summarized all his experience related to military affairs. Suvorov was an ardent opponent of the orders imposed in the Russian army by Paul I, which he did not hide. For his harsh statements about such actions, he was dismissed in February 1797. For the next two years, he lived on an estate in the Novgorod province.
Return to service
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich, whose biography as a commander would seem to be completed, was nevertheless appointed commander in chief of the Russian troops bound for Italy. Once again, he managed to defeat the enemy, this time it was the French army, and liberate Northern Italy from it. The commander was forced to go to Switzerland, where he managed to defeat the enemy in the incredible conditions of the snowy Alps. After the victory, won with such difficulty, the great commander was assigned a new rank, now he was called Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov.
A brief biography of the commander also indicates that he had another goal - Paris, which he, however, failed to achieve.
Death
Such difficult campaigns were fatal to the health of the great generalissimo, who was broken by long transitions, climate changes. In addition, of course, affected age. Barely returning to St. Petersburg, Alexander Suvorov fell ill and soon died. The ashes of the brilliant commander rest in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
The entire biography of Suvorov demonstrates to subsequent generations how heroic and courageous human actions and decisions can be. Generalissimus Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich not only helped the Russian army achieve many victories, he also became the author of a number of improvements in the conduct of the battle, creating a variety of techniques and maneuvers aimed at quickly defeating the enemy with minimal losses. It is impossible to underestimate his achievements, because they influenced the course of world history, and without them the modern political map of the world would have looked completely different.