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Battle Of Vitebsk (1812)
The battle of Vitebsk, sometimes spelled Witepsk, was a military engagement that took place on 26 and 27 July 1812 during the French invasion of Russia. The battle put a French force, under the command of Emperor Napoleon I, in combat with Russian rearguard forces under General Petr Konovnitsyn (on 26 July) and Peter von der Pahlen (on 27 July) and ended with the Russian forces making a strategic retreat from the battlefield. The battle occurred as Napoleon was trying to envelop the Russian First Army at Vitebsk and force them to accept battle. The commander of the Russian First Army, General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, was himself aiming to fight and thus massed the bulk of his forces at Vitebsk, even though he was aware that his chances to win against Napoleon were not good. Barclay's motivation to make a stand resulted from political pressures and from his own desire to improve the army's morale, after weeks of retreating without a fight. The fighting on 26 July ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Invasion Of Russia
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental blockade of the United Kingdom. Napoleon's invasion of Russia is one of the best studied military campaigns in history and is listed among the most lethal military operations in world history. It is characterized by the massive toll on human life: in less than six months nearly a million soldiers and civilians died. On 24 June 1812 and the following days, the first wave of the multinational crossed the Niemen into Russia. Through a series of long forced marches, Napoleon pushed his army of almost half a million people rapidly through Western Russia, now Belarus, in an attempt to destroy the separated Russian armies of Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration who amounted to around 180,000–220,000 at this time. Within six weeks, Napoleon lost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyotr Petrovich Palen
Peter Johann Christoph Graf von der Pahlen (russian: Пётр Петрович Пален, translit=Pyotr Petrovich Palen; , Kauzmünde Manor, Kauzmünde (now ) - , St. Petersburg) was a Baltic German aristocrat and a general of the Imperial Russian Army. Life Peter was born into the Baltic German noble Pahlen family. His family had a baronetcy until Emperor Alexander I of Russia bestowed Peter's father, Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, with the title count for him and his sons. who was an organiser of the assassination of the tsar. Peter's brother was Russian diplomat Friedrich Alexander von der Pahlen. Joining the army at an early age, Palen in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and in 1800 to Major General. Highly decorated for his command in the Polish campaign of the Napoleonic Wars (1806-1807), he retired from service in 1823. Recalled to the army in 1828 for the Russo-Turkish War, he also was a high-ranking Russian commander during the subsequent November Upr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daugava River
, be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea , mouth_coordinates = , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 = Belarus, Latvia, Russia , length = , source1_elevation = , mouth_elevation = , discharge1_avg = , basin_size = , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption = , pushpin_map_alt = The Daugava ( ltg, Daugova; german: Düna) or Western Dvina (russian: Западная Двина, translit=Západnaya Dviná; be, Заходняя Дзвіна; et, Väina; fi, Väinäjoki) is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. It rises close to the source of the Volga. It is in length, of which are in Latvia and are in Russia. It is a westward-flowing river, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. His talent for war, along with his reputation as a stern disciplinarian, earned him the nickname "The Iron Marshal" (''Le Maréchal de fer''). He is ranked along with Marshals Louis-Alexandre Berthier and Jean Lannes as one of Napoleon's finest commanders. His loyalty and obedience to Napoleon were absolute. During his lifetime, Davout's name was commonly spelled Davoust - this spelling appears on the Arc de Triomphe and in much of the correspondence between Napoleon and his generals. Biography Davout was born in the small village Annoux (Yonne) as the eldest son of Jean-François d'Avout (1739–1779), a calvalry officer and his wife (married in 1768) Françoise-Adélaïde Minard de Velars (1741–1810). He was of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Saltanovka
The battle of Saltanovka, also known as the Battle of Mogilev (French: ''Bataille de Mogilev''), took place on 23 July 1812 and was a battle during the early stages of the 1812 French invasion of Russia. Prelude Avoiding French envelopment attempts at the beginning of the invasion, the Russian Second Western Army under Prince Pyotr Bagration was ordered on 7 July to join, via Mogilev, the First Western Army of Barclay de Tolly. Bagration was threatened with encirclement by French emperor Napoleon's forces under King Jerome to the west and Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout's I Corps to the north. The Russian Prince moved rapidly to cross the Dnieper river at Mogilev to link up with Barclay. Davout was faster, however, and 28,000 of his troops took Mogilev on 20 July. The Russians arrived before Mogilev on 21 July and their vanguard under Colonel Vasily Sysoev drove out Davout's forward detachments near the village of Dashkovka to the south of Mogilev. Opposing forces Russian Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together. Prior to the Renaissance, courtesans served to convey information to visiting dignitaries, when servants could not be trusted. In Renaissance Europe, courtiers played an extremely important role in upper-class society. As it was customary during this time for royal couples to lead separate lives—commonly marrying simply to preserve bloodlines and to secure political alliances—men and women would often seek gratification and companionship from people living at court. In fact, the verb 'to court' originally meant "to be or reside at court ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia. It is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, with a population of roughly 5.4 million residents. Saint Petersburg is the List of European cities by population within city limits, fourth-most populous city in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow and London, the List of cities and towns around the Baltic Sea, most populous city on the Baltic Sea, and the world's List of northernmost items#Cities and settlements, northernmost city of more than 1 million residents. As Russia's Imperial capital, and a Ports of the Baltic Sea, historically strategic port, it is governed as a Federal cities of Russia, federal city. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
Count Alexander Ivanovich Count Osterman-Tolstoy (Russian: Александр Иванович Остерман-Толстой; 1770 – 12 February 1857) was a Russian nobleman and soldier in the era of the French Revolutionary Wars. He belonged to the famous Tolstoy family. Biography Count Alexander Ivanovich Osterman-Tolstoy was the son of the Lieutenant-General Ivan Matveevich Tolstoy (1746–1808) and his wife Agrafena Ilyinichna, nee Bibikova, "of ancient Tatar stock", and which, as per another member of the family, historian Nikolai Tolstoy, "may account for Alexander's dark complexion."Nikolai Tolstoy, ''The Tolstoys: Twenty-four Generations of Russian History'', Quill (1986), p. 92 He began his military service during the Turkish-Russian war of 1787-1791. In 1796 his two childless great-uncles, Fedor and Ivan Osterman, brothers of his paternal grandmother, gave him their family name, the title of count and a large fortune. Count Osterman-Tolstoy did not leave the militar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the Empire and Admiral of France. He was the 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and King of Naples as Joachim-Napoleon ( it, Gioacchino Napoleone, links=no) from 1808 to 1815. He was the brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte. Early life Murat was born on 25 March 1767 in La Bastide-Fortunière (later renamed Labastide-Murat after him), in Guyenne (the present-day French department of Lot). His father was Pierre Murat-Jordy (d. 27 July 1799), an affluent yeoman, innkeeper, postmaster and Roman Catholic churchwarden. His mother was Jeanne Loubières (1722 – 11 March 1806), the daughter of Pierre Loubières and his wife Jeanne Viellescazes. Murat's father, Pierre Murat-Jordy, was t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshal Of The Empire
Marshal of the Empire (french: Maréchal d'Empire) was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was created by '' Sénatus-consulte'' on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the ''Sénatus-consulte'', a Marshal was a grand officer of the Empire, entitled to a high-standing position at the Court and to the presidency of an electoral college. Although in theory reserved "to the most distinguished generals", in practice Emperor Napoleon I granted the title according to his own wishes and convictions and made at least a few controversial choices. Although not a military rank, a Marshal displayed four silver stars, while the top military rank, General of Division, displayed three stars. Furthermore, the Marshalate quickly became the prestigious sign of the supreme military attainment and it became customary that the most significant commands be given to a Marshal. Each Marshal held his own coat of arms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Ostrovno
The Battle of Ostrovno (French: ''Combat d'Ostrowno'') was a military engagement that took place on 25 July 1812, between French forces under the command of King of Naples Joachim Murat and Russian forces under General Ostermann-Tolstoy and ended with the Russian forces retreating from the battlefield. Context With the beginning of the Russian campaign in late June 1812, Emperor Napoleon I launched a series of envelopment maneuvers with his Grande Armée. With the Russian Imperial armies before him, Napoleon's first such maneuver at Vilna, failed without any engagement taking place. Napoleon then launched a second such attempt aimed toward Vitebsk in a bid to turn the main Russian army under Barclay de Tolly. With French forces moving through different routes in the direction of Vitebsk, a first major engagement took place on 25 July near Ostrowno, 30 kilometers west of Vitebsk, when General Etienne de Nansouty's 1st Cavalry Reserve Corps encountered the forces of Russian Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
