The history of the Patriotic War of 1812 has preserved the names of two female heroines - Nadezhda Durova and Vasilisa Kozhina.
The heroine of the Patriotic War of 1812, Vasilisa Kozhina, was born into a peasant family, and later became the wife of the headman of the Gorshkov farm, Sychevsky district, Smolensk province. During the war, helping the men, Vasilisa Kozhina several times participated in escorting French prisoners captured by them to the city of Sychevka and once killed an obstinate captured officer with a scythe.
During the war, when men were sent to the front, this simple peasant woman organized a partisan detachment consisting of teenagers and women. Armed only with pitchforks, scythes and axes, they attacked the French, destroyed their convoys, captured prisoners and handed them over to the regular army.
The entire Russian people spoke about the exploits of Vasilisa Kozhina, and word reached the Russian generals. Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov, who had heard a lot about Kozhina, wanted to see the heroine in person. Emperor Alexander I also heard about her. For her heroism, immediately after the end of hostilities, Vasilisa Kozhina was awarded a cash prize and a medal. One of the Moscow streets is named in honor of Vasilisa Kozhina.
A reference table on the history of the Patriotic War of 1812, it contains the main dates and major events Patriotic War of 1812 against France and Napoleon. The table will be useful for schoolchildren and students in preparing for tests, exams and the Unified State Examination in history.
Causes of the Patriotic War of 1812
1) Russia’s actual refusal to participate in the continental blockade due to damage to foreign trade
2) Napoleon’s unsuccessful attempt to woo the sister of the Russian emperor
3) Napoleon’s support for the Poles’ desire to revive their state, which did not suit Russia.
4) Napoleon's desire for world domination. The only obstacle to the implementation of this plan remained Russia.
Plans of action of the parties and balance of forces
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Plans of the parties |
Russia's plan is to abandon general battles in initial period wars, preserving the army and drawing the French into the depths Russian territory. This was supposed to lead to a weakening of the military potential of Napoleon's army and ultimately to defeat |
Napoleon's goal is not the capture and enslavement of Russia, but the defeat of the main forces of Russian troops during a short-term campaign and the conclusion of a new, tougher than Tilsit peace treaty, which would oblige Russia to follow in the wake of French policy |
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Balance of power |
Russian army: Total number ~700 thousand people. (including Cossacks and militia) The following armies were located on the western border: 1st - Commander M.B. Barclay de Tolly 2nd - commander P.I. Bagration 3rd - Commander A.P. Tormasov |
Napoleon's Grand Army: Total number 647 thousand people, including a contingent of countries dependent on France The 1st echelon of French troops that invaded Russia amounted to 448 thousand people. |
Main events and dates of the Patriotic War
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Dates |
Events of the Patriotic War |
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Russia is adjacent to anti-French coalition England, Austria, Sweden and the Kingdom of Naples. |
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The infamous defeat at Austerlitz. |
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With the mediation of Great Britain, a new coalition was hastily put together with the participation of Prussia, Russia, and Sweden. Prussian troops are defeated by Napoleon at Jena and Auerstadt, Prussia capitulates. |
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The French are repulsed by Russian forces at the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau. |
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In the battle of Friedland, the French gain the upper hand. |
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The Treaty of Tilsit with France was imposed on Russia. Joining the continental blockade of England hit the Russian economy hard. |
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Demonstrating loyalty to Napoleon, Alexander I was forced to go on a military campaign against Austria. Fighting were of a purely decorative nature: the Russian command notified the Austrians in advance of the offensive, giving time to withdraw the troops (“Orange War”). |
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The invasion of Napoleonic army into Russia. |
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Formation of the 1st Army of M.B.Barclay de Tolly and the 2nd Army of P.I.Bagration near Smolensk. |
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The defeat of Russian troops in the battle for Smolensk and a new retreat. |
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Appointment of M.I. Kutuzov as commander-in-chief. |
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Battle of Borodino: The losses on both sides were enormous, but neither Russia nor France gained an overwhelming advantage. |
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1812, 1 and 13 September. |
Council in Fili: it was decided to leave Moscow without a fight in order to preserve the army. |
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1812, 4 - 20 September, |
Tarutino maneuver of Russian troops. At the same time, a “small” (guerrilla) war flares up. The Moscow underground makes anti-French attacks. |
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Napoleon realizes that he has fallen into a trap and faces the threat of a complete blockade of Moscow by Russian troops. He quickly retreats. |
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Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Napoleon's troops are forced to continue their retreat along the Smolensk road they had previously destroyed. |
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Crossing the Berezina River. The feverish retreat of the French and their allies. |
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The final expulsion of Napoleon from Russia. Alexander I makes the controversial decision to wage war against Napoleon to a victorious end and contribute to the liberation of Europe. The beginning of the foreign campaigns of the Russian army. |
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Napoleonic forces were defeated in the famous “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig (Austrian and Prussian troops fought on the side of Russia). |
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Russian troops entered Paris. |
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The Vienna Congress of the victorious countries, at which Russia did not receive sufficient reward for its contribution to the defeat of Napoleon. Other participating countries were jealous of Russia's foreign policy successes and were not averse to contributing to its weakening. |
Battle of Borodino
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Battle of Borodino |
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132 thousand people 640 guns |
Balance of power |
135 thousand people 587 guns |
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Main milestones of the battle: The main offensive attacks of the French: Left flank - Bagration's flushes Center - mound height (battery of General N. Raevsky) As a result of stubborn fighting, they were captured by the French in the afternoon, BUT the French failed to break through the defenses of the Russian troops! |
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44 thousand people |
Losses of the parties |
58.5 thousand people |
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Results of the battle (various estimates) 1. Victory of the Russian troops (M.I. Kutuzov) 2. Victory of the French troops (Napoleon) 3. Draw, since the parties failed to achieve their goals (Modern historians) |
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Partisan movement and people's militia
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Guerrilla movement |
People's militia |
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Specially organized army partisan detachments led by officers (D. Davydov, A. Figner, A. Benckendorff, etc.) |
Created on the basis of the Manifestos of Emperor Alexander 1 of July 6 and 18, 1812 with the aim of creating strategic reserves and organizing resistance to the French |
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People's (peasant) partisan detachments (G. Kurin - Moscow province, V. Kozhina - Smolensk province, etc.) |
The largest number of militias was in the Moscow province (30 thousand) and the St. Petersburg province (14 thousand) |
Results of the Patriotic War of 1812:
1) Napoleon’s plans to establish world domination were thwarted
2) Awakening the national self-awareness of the Russian people and patriotic upsurge in the country
3) Liberation European countries from French rule
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Source of information: History in tables and diagrams./ Edition 2e, St. Petersburg: 2013.
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Slide captions:
Patriotic War of 1812 Calendar of events
Napoleon and his army conquered almost all of Europe. He sought to capture India, England's richest colony. To do this it was necessary to conquer Russia. IN Patriotic War All the peoples of Russia participated.
June 12, 1812 - Napoleon's army invades Russia across the Neman River. 3 Russian armies were at a great distance from each other. Tormasov's army, being in Ukraine, could not participate in the war. It turned out that only 2 armies took the blow. But they had to retreat to connect.
August 3 - the connection of the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly near Smolensk. The enemies lost about 20 thousand, and ours about 6 thousand, but Smolensk had to be abandoned. Even the united armies were 4 times smaller than the enemy!
On August 8, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief. An experienced strategist, wounded many times in battles, Suvorov's student was liked by the people.
August 26 – The Battle of Borodino lasted more than 12 hours. It is considered a general battle. On the approaches to Moscow, the Russians showed massive heroism. The enemy's losses were greater, but our army could not go on the offensive. The numerical superiority of the enemies was still great. Reluctantly, they decided to surrender Moscow in order to save the army.
September - October - Napoleon's army is seated in Moscow. His expectations were not met. It was not possible to win. Kutuzov rejected requests for peace. The attempt to escape to the south failed.
October – December – expulsion of Napoleon’s army from Russia along the destroyed Smolensk road. From 600 thousand enemies there are about 30 thousand left!
December 25, 1812 - Emperor Alexander I issued a manifesto on the victory of Russia. But the war had to be continued. Napoleon still had armies in Europe. If they are not defeated, he will attack Russia again. The foreign campaign of the Russian army lasted until victory in 1814.
The Patriotic War of 1812 became nationwide. Every citizen contributed to the victory. Some gave money to create armed units, many took part in the partisan movement, wearing out the enemy with frequent attacks. The owners set fire to their houses so that they would not fall to the enemies. If the people and the army are united, then it is impossible to defeat such a force.
The reason for Napoleon’s defeat was the combined action of many factors, the main ones being the heroism of the Russian people and the Russian army, the unpreparedness French army to combat operations in the natural and climatic conditions of Russia, the military leadership talents of the Russian Commander-in-Chief M.I. Kutuzov and other Russian generals.
On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes
Battles and events of the Patriotic War of 1812
Explanatory note to the long-term project of 2nd grade students “Heroes and events of the Patriotic War of 1812 in memorable and historical places of Moscow” (to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino)
ABOUT THE PROJECT: Information, interdisciplinary project - aimed at collecting information about objects (memorable and historical places of Moscow) for the purpose of analyzing, summarizing and presenting information to the audience...
The history of the Patriotic War of 1812 has preserved the names of two female heroines - Nadezhda Durova and Vasilisa Kozhina.
Cavalry maiden Nadezhda Durova
Born in 1783 into the family of an army captain, Nadezhda Durova grew up and was raised under the supervision of a retired private hussar. Her first toys were a pistol and a saber. At the age of 20, she left her family and, dressing in men's clothing (a Cossack uniform), wanted to serve in a Cossack regiment. Since Cossacks were required to wear beards, and sooner or later she would have been exposed, Nadezhda Durova reached the Konnopolsky Uhlan cavalry regiment, where beards were not worn, and asked to serve, calling herself Alexander Vasilyevich Sokolov, the son of a landowner. The regiment was surprised that the nobleman wore a Cossack uniform, but, believing her stories, they enrolled in the regiment.
Nadezhda Durova took part in the Patriotic War of 1812 and fought in the Battle of Borodino. She was shell-shocked. Throughout his entire time military service Durova pretended to be a man, because at that time women did not participate in the war and did not serve in the army. And only a few people knew that she was a woman in disguise, including Field Marshal Kutuzov, for whom she served as an orderly, and Emperor Alexander I.
Alexander I personally met with the cavalry girl and allowed her to serve in the army. The Emperor promoted Durova to rank, awarded her for saving an officer in the war and gave her his name, calling her Alexander Alexandrov.
MAIN EVENTS
PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1812
July 14 - near the village of Saltanovka Bagration dealt a serious blow to Davout’s troops
July 19 - Wittgenstein withstood the battle near the village of Klyastitsy, repelling Oudinot’s attacks
July 27 - Ataman M.I. Platov fought at the Molevoy swamp with the French troops of Sebastiani, who were defeated
July 31 - Schwarzenberg's Austrian corps attacked Russian troops near the town of Gorodechna. Tormasov retreated to Kobrin
August 4 - 6 - the battle for Smolensk took place between the troops of Barclay de Tolly and the main forces of Napoleon. The Russians left Smolensk
August 17 - the new commander-in-chief M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov arrived in the army, who occupied a convenient defensive line near the village of Borodino
August 24 - the battle between the troops of Lieutenant General M.D. Gorchakov 2nd and the main forces of Napoleon took place for Shevardino
August 26 - the Battle of Borodino took place. The losses on both sides were enormous. Kutuzov gave the order to retreat
August 27 - Cossacks of Ataman Platov repelled all attempts by Murat to capture Mozhaisk
September 1 - at the council in Fili, Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow without a fight in order to preserve the army
September 3 - the vanguard of Murat's corps was forced to release the rearguard of General M.A. Miloradovich from Moscow. On the same day, Murat occupied Moscow, and in the evening Napoleon arrived in the Kremlin
September 16 - a partisan detachment of Colonel D.V. Davydov defeated an enemy unit covering transport with forage and artillery equipment near Vyazma
September 20 - Russian troops entered Tarutino camp. From that moment the guerrilla war began
3-5 October- sick and wounded Frenchmen set out from Moscow under the cover of Claparede’s division and Nansouty’s detachment
October 6 - L.L. Bennigsen attacked isolated parts of Murat and defeated them. On the same day, a three-day battle for Polotsk began between the troops of P. X. Wittgenstein and the French of Saint-Cyr. Polotsk was taken by storm by columns of Major General Vlasov, Major General Dibich and Colonel Ridiger
November 22 - Victor’s rearguard on the road to the city of Molodechno was defeated by the troops of Platov and Chaplitsa