the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

of Napoléon and save his army from destruction. 72 Bagration boasted even the
“ingenious Napoléon was surprised” by the march of the 2 nd Western Army. 73 General
Neverovsky recalled, “We covered over 800 versts [550 miles] in 22 days and an average
march was 45-50 versts [30-33 miles]… In addition, the enemy had a direct route to
Minsk, Borisov and Orscha, while we made a circuit.” 74 The ‘Journal of Military
Operations of 2 nd Western Army’ demonstrated that Bagration was shrewd and capable
commander. He paid attention to each detail and the journal included Bagration’s many
instructions to minor detachments spread over the extended territory. Though
contemporaries often referred to Bagration’s lack of education, his journal of military
operations is a remarkable example how well and proficiently he learned the military art
through his experiences.
Prince Bagration demonstrated skills of tactics and “sharp and shrewd mind” 75
that saved the army from destruction. Contemporaries praised Bagration’s maneuvers
profusely. Polish General Kolachkovsky, one of the participants of the 1812 campaign,
considered Bagration “among the most prominent military leaders of his time,” equal to
72 The Russian historian Nikolay Okunev wrote of Bagration’s retreat, “Looking at a map
and grasping a compass for the verification, it is easy to be convinced, even at a superficial
glance, how small were the chances left to Prince Bagration to achieve this unification. I judge a
person by his deeds, and therefore, I allow myself to ask a question: Whether any general was
ever put in a more peril, and whether any has emerged from a similar position with the greater
honor?” Okunev, Nikolay. Razbor glavnikh voennikh operatsii, bitv I srazhenii v Rossii v
kampaniu 1812 goda [Survey of the Major Military Operations, Clashes and Battles in Russia
During 1812 Campaign], (St. Petersburg, 1912) 12.
73 Bagration to Rostopchin, circa early August 1812, in Dubrovin, Patriotic War in
Correspondence of the Contemporaries, 99.
74 “Zapiski general Neverovskago o sluzhbe svoei v 1812 godu” [General Neverovsky’s
Notes on His Service in 1812, hereafter cited as Neverovsky’s Notes], Chtenia v Imperatorskom
obschestve istorii i drevnostei rossiiskikh pri Moskovskom Universitete, (Moscow, 1859), I, 77.
At Moghilev, Bagration wrote to Alexander, “Six hundred versts [398 miles] of harsh terrain was
covered in eighteen days while the enemy was always pursuing us, and we carried our sick,
captured and wagons.” Bagration to Alexander, 22 July 1812, No. 434, Headquarters’ Archives,
XIV, 82.
75 Yermolov, Memoirs, 1, 152.
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