Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Ilya Mikhailovich Duka (russian: Илья Михайлович Дука; 1768–28 February 1830) was a Russian general in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Biography

Ilya Mikhailovich Duka came from a Serbian family that emigrated to Russia, established in the

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate ( rus, Ку́рская губе́рния, r=Kúrskaya gubérniya) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, located in European Russia. It existed from 1796 to 1928; its seat was in the city o ...

. In May 1776, he joined the infantry at

Shlisselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

(formerly Nöteborg) near

St. 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), i ...

. In 1783 he fought against Polish confederates alongside the Russian Imperial Army and was promoted to aide-de-camp to Major-General

Ivan Šević Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

, the grandson of

Jovan Šević Jovan Šević or Ivan Šević ( sr-Cyrl, Јован Шевић, russian: Иван Егорович Шевич; died ) was an 18th-century military officer of Serb origin. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Serb militia forces in the ...

. He participated in the Russo-Turkish campaign in 1788-89 and was transferred to the Ostrogozh Light Cavalry Regiment in 1790. During the campaign in Poland in 1794, he distinguished himself by capturing General

Tomasz Wawrzecki Tomasz Antoni Wawrzecki () (1753–1816) was a distinguished Polish-Lithuanian politician and military commander. During Kościuszko Uprising, he succeeded Tadeusz Kościuszko as the . Early life Tomasz Wawrzecki was born in the in 1754 or 7 ...

and his officers, and was promoted to major. In October 1799, he was transferred to the Life Guard Hussar Regiment and promoted to colonel. On 23 October 1806, Duka was appointed ''chef'' of the Little Russia Cuirassier Regiment. He took part in the 1807 Campaign and distinguished himself at Eylau, being awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

(3rd Class) and a

Golden Weapon "For Bravery" The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

. He was promoted to major general on 6 June 1807. In 1812, Duka commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Cuirassier Division, and later commanded the division itself. For his actions at

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

and

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

, Duka was awarded the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

(1st Class) and for the battles of Tarutino and

Maloyaroslavets Maloyaroslavets (russian: Малояросла́вец) is a town and the administrative center of Maloyaroslavetsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River (Oka's basin), northeast of Kaluga, the adminis ...

—the

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

(2nd Class). In 1813, Duka was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

(27 September), fought at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and was wounded in the head. In 1814 he participated in the capture of Paris. He was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle and the Austrian Order of St. Leopold. Upon his return to Russia, Duka commanded the 2nd Cuirassier Division and in September 1823, he was appointed to command the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Corps. In September 1826, he was promoted to the general of cavalry, the next highest rank to

Field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

, and then retired on 17 February 1827 because of ill health.Vanče Stojčev, ''Military History of Macedonia'', Military Academy "General Mihailo Apostolski", 2004 , He died on 28 February 1830.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duka, Ilya Imperial Russian Army generals 1768 births 1830 deaths People from the Russian Empire of Serbian descent Russian nobility

Biography

See also

References