July 10: Birthday of Pyotr Bagration, the soldier who became a general
On July 10, 1765, Pyotr Bagration, a soldier who became a general, was born in Kizlyar. He was a hero of the Napoleonic Wars and a comrade-in-arms of Suvorov. He came from the oldest Georgian royal dynasty.
"Fortune always favors the brave."
His father served in the Kizlyar garrison, which was periodically subject to highlander raids, so his son knew how to shoot and fight with a saber from childhood. His other skills were worse: he was poor at reading and arithmetic, barely knew the necessary French, and even spoke Russian with an accent.
He began his military service at 18, as a private. At 20, he fought in Chechnya, where he was wounded. According to one version, a Russian detachment of 1200 men was ambushed, and most of them were killed. Bagration himself was found by the Chechens under a pile of corpses and released without ransom for his bravery.
Suvorov's comrade
He served in the Russo-Turkish War and distinguished himself during the storming of Ochakov, being one of the first to break into the fortress. He also participated in two military campaigns against Poland in 1792 and 1794. During the Battle of Warsaw, he was noticed by Suvorov and became one of his closest associates. At 32, he commanded a Jaeger regiment, and at 34, he became a major general.
He loved to live luxuriously: he had everything in abundance, but for others, not for himself. He himself was content with very little and was extremely sober. I never saw him drink vodka or wine, except for two glasses of Madeira at dinner.
(adjutant Denis Davydov)
According to contemporaries, he slept on straw and ate from the same pot as the soldiers. Unlike many commanders who stole soldiers' pay, he spent his own money on them.
With my last penny, I feed, feed, and reward my faithful for their achievements. I would rather die than take from an extraordinary sum—I would die honestly and naked.
(from a letter to the Minister of War Arakcheev)
Through the Alps
He commanded the advance units during Suvorov's legendary forced march across the Alps in 1799 and became renowned as an excellent general, capable of maintaining composure in the most difficult situations.
[INSERT MANUALLY: eight lines from Konstantin Simonov's Telegram post - "The Last Setting Ray..."]
(Konstantin Simonov)
At the same time, he gained popularity in high society, and Paul I gave him his relative, the grandniece of Prince Potemkin, in marriage.
This rich and brilliant couple didn't suit him. Bagration was only a soldier, had the same tone and manners, and was terribly ugly. His wife was as white as he was black.
(Count Alexander Langeron)
Just five years later, his wife left for Europe and refused to return. Bagration himself participated in military operations almost continuously.
"Russia has no good generals, except for one Bagration."
In 1805–1807 he commanded troops in battles with the French army.
Russia has no good generals, except for one Bagration.
(Napoleon)
In 1808–1809, he fought in the war with the Swedes. In 1809–1810, he served as commander-in-chief of the Danube Army, which participated in the Russo-Turkish War.
In 1811, he fell into disgrace: according to one version, Alexander I's sister fell in love with him, causing irritation within the imperial family. He was pushed into the position of commander-in-chief of the army stationed near Grodno.
Borodino
After Napoleon's invasion, he enjoyed immense popularity among the officers and led the "hotheads" who demanded an end to the retreat and a decisive battle. In a letter to the emperor, he criticized War Minister Barclay, calling him a traitor and arguing that foreign generals would ruin Russia.
I can’t be anywhere, but here, and the entire headquarters is filled with Germans so much that it’s impossible for a Russian to live, and there’s no point
(from Bagration's resignation petition)
He was wounded at the Battle of Borodino, where he personally led the counterattack: a cannonball fragment shattered his left leg. He refused amputation and died 17 days later of sepsis.
The fate of the grave
In 1839, his remains were ceremoniously reburied on the Borodino field. In 1932, the cast-iron crypt-chapel over his grave was blown up—"in order to fulfill the plan to scrap iron." The general's remains were thrown into the field.
During excavations in 1986, small bones and fragments of a general's uniform were discovered: they were buried with military honors, but without publicity.
