the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

impossible to return all of the land, the Russian administration in Georgia recommended
Emperor Alexander to reimburse Peter Bagration’s family for the losses. After Peter’s
death, his brother Alexander claimed the inheritance and was given a small village with
251 peasants near Gori. 11
In June 1811, Prince Bagration received a leave with 9,000 rubles of allowance
from Minister of War Barclay de Tolly. He traveled to Simy, in the Vladimir gubernia, to
spend the rest of the summer. Prince Peter rested for almost a month but, on 25 August
1811, he received an imperial decree appointing him commander-in-chief of the Army of
Podolsk 12 deployed in area of Kiev, Volynsk, and Podolsk, with headquarters at
Zhitomir. Bagration, suffering from a serious fever, was unable to move for next several
days so he arrived at Zhitomir only on 20 September. 13 He examined the troops and
began the reorganization of the army.
Bagration was among few Russian senior officers who realized the need for new
military regulations. As he assumed command of the Army of Podolsk, Bagration was
told about the manual entitled “Instructions to Infantry Officers on a Day of Battle”
written by General Mikhail Vorontsov in 1810. Bagration made certain corrections to
these regulations and applied them in the army. The new manual detailed the
responsibilities of the officers and introduced improved tactics for the infantry and
cavalry. 14 Although still suffering from fever, Bagration still managed to inspect most
of the regiments, fortresses, and warehouses spread over an extensive area in Belorussia
and Ukraine. “Passing through Kiev,” he wrote Alexander, “I examined the fortifications
and arsenals, which were found in good conditions. There is plenty of ammunition and
11 Rtischev to Guriev, 2 June 1816, Ibid., V.
12 This army was composed of 2 nd , 12 th and 18 th Infantry Divisions, 5 th Cavalry Division and
General Dimitry Dorokhov’s Corps.
13 Correspondence of Bagration, 99.
14 P. Simakovsky, Dva Nastavlenia [Two Manuals], Russkii invalid, 176 (1912), 4-5;
Alexander and Yurii Zhmodikov, Tactics of the Russian Army in the Napoleonic Wars, (West
Chester, 2003), II, 13-27, 31-35
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