Nikolay Vasilyevich Vuich (also spelled Nikolaj Vasiljevič Vujič or Nikolaj Vasiljević Vujić; russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Ву́ич; 1765–27 March 1836) was an

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

n general who fought in the

Russo-Swedish War Wars between Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and ...

, Russo Turkish War, the Polish campaign and 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 ...

. He distinguished himself in all the wars in defense of Imperial Russia and contributed his mite in the success of the Coalition forces against Napoleon. His portrait now hangs at the 1812

Military Gallery of the Winter Palace The Military Gallery (russian: Военная галерея) is a gallery of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The gallery is a setting for 332 portraits of generals who took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. The portraits were pain ...

Biography

His ancestors moved to Russia from Serbian lands in the middle of the 18th century. Russian military service records show that he enlisted in the 12th Akhtyrsky

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

Regiment on 12 December 1777. He moved to the Belarusian Yaeger Corps on 8 April 1787 with the rank of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

. In 1790, he was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the assault on the fortress of

Izmail Izmail (, , translit. ''Izmail,'' formerly Тучков ("Tuchkov"); ro, Ismail or ''Smil''; pl, Izmaił, bg, Исмаил) is a city and municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administra ...

. For bravery exhibited in the Polish-Russian War of 1792, he received the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He was commander of the 11th (previously 12th)

Chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a mor ...

s Regiment (from 10 September 1800, with a break from 27 March to 28 August 1803). He was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 18 September 1803. In the 1806–1807 campaign in Poland, with the rank of colonel, he was decorated for bravery at Eylau and against the Swedes. Later, in 1812 Vuich fought at

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

and

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 ...

with distinction.

Battle of Borodino

Under commander-in-chief

Barclay de Tolly Barclay de Tolly () is the name of a Baltic German noble family of Scottish origin (Clan Barclay). During the time of the Revolution of 1688 in Britain, the family migrated to Swedish Livonia from Towy (Towie) in Aberdeenshire. Its subsequen ...

in the

Battle of 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 ...

, Vuich was ordered to mount a bayonet charge to gain control of a bridge over the Kolocha River. Colonel Vuich, whose Jaeger Brigade was closest to the bridge, had only eight battalions but they were intact, and the French were repulsed with heavy casualties. His

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

s then blew up the bridge. At the same time, another Russian general

Nikolay Raevsky Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky (; — ) was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic Wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture. Early life Nikolay Raevsky was born i ...

needed help and three Jaeger regiments under Vuich's command went to assist Raevsky to protect the right-wing of the Russian Army, better known as the "Raevsky Redoubt". That year (21 November 1812) Vuich was elevated to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. In the second period of the war, Vuich participated in the attack on the city of Vereya, in the

Battle of Maloyaroslavets The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812 as part of the French invasion of Russia. It was Kutuzov's decisive battle to force Napoleon to retreat northwest over Mozhaisk to Smolensk on the devastated route of his advance with ...

and the

Battle of Krasnoi The Battle of Krasnoi (Krasny) was a series of skirmishes fought from 15 to 18 November 1812 during the final stage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.Lieven, p. 267. In this engagement the Russians under General Kutuzov inflicted heavy losses o ...

. For exceptional bravery demonstrated at Maloyaroslavets, he received from the Tsar the Golden Weapon with diamonds. He participated in 1813 and 1814 campaigns against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...

garnering 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 (awarded on 30 March 1813), and taking command of the 24th Infantry Division. Appointed commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 24th Infantry Division, Vuich was part of the Northern Army in the campaign of 1813–1814 that participated in the battles of

Dennewitz Dennewitz is a village of Germany, in the federal state and old Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 km. S.W. from Berlin. It is part of the municipality of Niedergörsdorf, Teltow-Fläming district. History It is memorable a ...

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 ...

Craonne Craonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History It was the site of the Napoleonic Battle of Craonne in 1814. The former town was totally destroyed by artillery during the Nivelle Offensive in Worl ...

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...

and the taking of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, for which he was awarded

Order of Saint 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 Hol ...

, 1st degree, and Order of St. George, 3rd class, as well as diamond signs to the Order of Saint Anna, 1st degree. On 27 November 1816, he became the head of the 24th Infantry Division and on 11 November 1827, the 18th Infantry Division. He was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

on 28 November 1829. Nikolay Vasilyevich Vuich died in 1836. His grandson Nicholas Vuich was a Russian senator during the reign of Czar

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

Awards and decorations

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 degree with diamonds *

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 ...

, 3rd degree *

, 3rd degree * The Cross for

< *

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 ...

with diamonds * The distinction "for XXX years of immaculate service"

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vuich, Nikolay 1765 births 1836 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from the Russian Empire of Serbian descent 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire 19th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class

Biography

Battle of Borodino

Awards and decorations

See also

References