Aleksey Elmolov

Aleksey Ermolov was one of the most distinguished commanders of the French-Russian War of 1812; he was a man whose courage, braveness, cold-mind and fair and honest attitude to Russian soldiers was attracting many of Russian people of all ranks and ages.

This gifted army commander was born in a noble Russian family in Moscow in June of 1772. Receiving good education and manners, he graduated from the boarding school of the Moscow University and was enlisted in the Life Guard of the Preobrazhensk Regiment in 1787. Four years later, he was promoted to a Lieutenant and transferred to Nizhniy Novgorod Dragoon Regiment with a rank of a captain. He briefly taught at the Artillery and Engineers Cadet Corps in 1793 before being sent to fight at the Polish insurgents in 1794. He participated in the assault on Prague and received the Order of St. George in 1795. A year later Aleksey Ermolov took part in the Persian Campaign along the Caspian Sea. However, he was arrested in 1799 for alleged participation in conspiracy against the Tsar and Aleksey Ermolov spent two years in exile. He was restored under Alexander I and appointed to the 8th Artillery Regiment in 1801; then he was removed to the Horse Artillery Regiment in 1801.

During the Campaign of 1805, Aleksey Ermolov served in the rear and advance guards and distinguished himself at Amstetten and Austerlitz. For his actions, he was promoted to a Colonel in 1806. The following year, he participated in the campaign in Poland, serving at the Prince Petr Bagration’s advance guard. He distinguished himself commanding an artillery company in numerous rearguard actions during the retreat to Landsberg as well as in the Battle of Eylau. In 1807, Aleksey Ermolov commanded Horse Artillery company in the actions at Guttstadt, Deppen, Hejlsberg and Friedland, receiving the Order of St. George. He was promoted to a General-Major in 1808 and was appointed as an Inspector of Horse Artillery companies. In early 1809, he inspected artillery companies of the Army of Danube. Although his division took part in the Campaign of 1809 against Austria, Aleksey Ermolov commanded the reserves in Volhynia and Podolsk provinces where he was serving for two years. In 1811, he took command of the Guard Artillery company and in 1812, became the Chief of Staff of the 1st Western Army.

During the 1812 Campaign, Aleksey Ermolov took part in the retreat to Smolensk and played an important role in a quarrel between Generals Barclay de Tolly and Petr Bagration. He opposed Barclay’s strategy and appealed to the Emperor Alexander to replace him with Bagration. After unification of two Russian armies, Aleksey Ermolov was fighting at Smolensk and Valutina Gora and he was promoted to a General-Lieutenant in 1812. He distinguished himself at the Borodino battle, where he was easily wounded leading a counterattack that recaptured the Great Redoubt. For his courage, Ermolov received the Order of Saint Anna. During the rest of the campaign, he served as a duty officer in the headquarters of the main Russian army and fought at Maloyaroslavets.

In October-November 1812, Aleksey Ermolov served in the advance guard under Miloradovich and fought at Vyazma and Krasnyi. In late November, he commanded one of the detachments in the advance guard under General Rosen taking part in the combats on the Berezina. On 3 December 1812, he was recalled to the main headquarters where he became the Chief of Staff of the Russian army. Three weeks later, he was appointed the Commander of the Artillery of the Russian armies.

In 1813, Aleksey Ermolov fought at Lutzen, where he was accused of insubordination and transferred to command the 2nd Guard Division. He then fought at Bautzen, commanding the Russian rearguard during the retreat, and at Kulm where he was awarded with the Prussian Order of the Iron Cross. In 1814, he distinguished himself in the battle at Paris and was awarded with the Order of Saint George in 1814. Two years later, Ermolov was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian forces in Georgia and commander of the Independent Georgian Corps in 1816. He proved himself a good organizer and successfully negotiated peace with Persia in 1818, receiving promotion to a General of Infantry in 1818.

Aleksey Ermolov served in Georgia for nine years but was dismissed in 1827 because of his argument with General Ivan Paskevich, who was patronized by the Emperor Nicholas I; Aleksey Ermolov was discharged in December 1827 with full pension. However, four years later, the Emperor Nicholas restored him in the rank and appointed him to the State Council; Aleksey Ermolov’s rank of General of Infantry was confirmed in 1833. During the Crimean War, Ermolov was elected the head of the Moscow Folk Guard (Opolchenye) in March of 1855. He died on 23 April 1861 in Moscow and was buried at the Trinity Church in Orel.

Aleksey Ermolov was one of the best artillery officers in the Russian army. He proved his abilities throughout the Napoleonic Wars and later in the Caucasus. However, he was also shrewd and cunning courtier, who often intrigued against his superiors. Because of his enigmatic character, Aleksey Ermolov was often described as the “Modern Sphinx.” He proved himself a ruthless ruler in the Caucasus and distinguished himself brutally suppressing Chechen uprisings.

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