Living bridge franz rubeau. "Living bridge

At that time in the Caucasus, battles with less than tenfold superiority of the enemy were not counted as battles and were officially reported as "exercises in conditions close to combat"

Who is too lazy to read - watch the video.
From the author of the post:
I ask you not to criticize the author of this video about the style of presentation (for a certain stratum of the population) of historical facts, as well as the conclusions he made in the association on the modern leadership of the country ...
For schA will begin)))

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like the prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). The golden page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, adorable cunning and stunning Russian arrogance. But first things first.
In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long faded by that time, and the British, who never had a normal ground army. Both those and others behaved like complete fools, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the power of his genius, could not do something. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, the Persian Baba Khan, who was hummingly reading reports on our European defeats, had an Ideyka.
Baba Khan stopped purring and again went to Russia, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual staging of the familiar drama "The crowd of so-called allies-crooked-handed and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone", St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that the entire Caucasus was 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers.
Therefore, upon learning that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza were going to the city of Shusha (this is in present-day Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan), where Major Lisanevich was stationed with 6 companies of rangers, Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the hero Karyagin, the hero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.

They did not manage to reach Shushi, the Persians intercepted ours along the road, near the Shah-Bulakh river, on June 24. Persian avant-garde. Modest 10,000 people. Not at all perplexed (at that time in the Caucasus battles with less than tenfold superiority of the enemy were not counted as battles and were officially reported as "exercises in conditions close to combat"), Karyagin built an army in squares and repelled the fruitless attacks of the Persian cavalry all day until the Persians were left with only scraps. Then he walked another 14 versts and set up a fortified camp, the so-called wagenburg or, in Russian, gulyai-gorod, when the line of defense was built up of wagons (given the Caucasian off-road and the missing supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them).
The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funeral, crying and writing postcards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual "Military art for dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if you are 40,000, and his 400"), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenish water supplies. In response, the Russians made a sortie, made their way to the Persian battery and blew it up, dropping the remnants of the guns into the river.
However, this did not save the situation. Having fought for another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lysenko and six more traitors ran across to the Persians, the next day 19 more joined them - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. It's uncomfortable.

At the officers' council two options were proposed: or we all stay here and die, who is for? Nobody. Or we are going to break through the Persian encirclement, after which we STORM a nearby fortress, while the Persians catch up with us, and we are already in the fortress. The only problem is that there are still tens of thousands of us on guard.
We decided to break through. At night. Cutting the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the program "Staying Alive When You Can't Stay Alive" almost got out of the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a skirmish, then a chase again, then ours finally broke away from the Makhmuds in a dark-dark Caucasian forest and went to a fortress named after the nearby river Shakh-Bulakh. By that time, a golden aura was shining around the remaining participants in the crazy marathon "Fight as much as you can" (I remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, bayonet duels and night hide and seek in the forests), a golden aura was shining, so Karyagin simply smashed Shakh-Bulakh's gates with a cannonball , after which he wearily asked the small Persian garrison: "Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Here, right?"
The guys got the hint and fled. In the process of the run, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gate, when the main Persian forces appeared, worried about the loss of their beloved Russian detachment. But that was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After an inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the convoy with food had to be abandoned during a breakthrough from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Karyagin went out to the troops again:

An infantry regiment in squares. Musketeer companies (1), grenadier companies and platoons (3), regimental artillery (5), regiment commander (6), headquarters officer (8).
- Out of 493 people, 175 of us remained, almost all of them were wounded, dehydrated, exhausted, extremely tired. No food. No wagon train. Kernels and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried several times to take us by storm.
It is he who waits until we die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we will not die. You will not die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to take up all the impudence that you have, because tonight we leave the fortress and break through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WILL TAKE AN STORM AGAIN, WITH ALL THE PERSIAN ARMY ON SHOULDERS.
This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is a Russian story, to put sentries on the walls, which will echo among themselves all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We set out as soon as it's dark enough!

On July 7 at 22 o'clock, Karyagin set out from the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day and was not able to "the terminators are coming," how many extremely desperate people are able to move in the Heart of Darkness of this insane, impossible, incredible on nothing more than anger and strength of mind. , an unthinkable hike. "
With cannons, with carts of the wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a big and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost - and therefore even the soldiers who remained to call each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task.
Moving through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst, a detachment of Russian soldiers encountered a moat through which it was impossible to ferry cannons, and without cannons the assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither sense nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, there was no time to look for a forest - the Persians could overtake at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the others, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the moat. And they went to bed. Like logs. No bravado, no talk, no everything. We jumped down and lay down. The heavy cannons drove straight for them.

Only two rose from the moat. Silently.
On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, for the first time in many days ate and drank normally, and moved on to the Mukhrat fortress. Three miles away from her, a detachment of a little more than a hundred people attacked several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the guns and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: "Karyagin shouted:" Guys, go ahead, save the guns! "
Apparently, the soldiers remembered at what price they got these guns. Red, this time Persian, splashed on the carriages, and it sprayed and poured and poured the carriages, and the earth around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and poured and poured and poured until the Persians did not scatter in panic, and failed to break the resistance of hundreds of ours.

300 Spartans in Russian (Campaign against the Persians in 1805) 300, 1805, Spartans, in Russian, campaign, against, Persians, year
They took Mukhrat easily, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: "We are still alive and for the last three weeks have forced half of us to chase us. The Persians at the Tertara River", immediately went out to meet the Persian army with 2,300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then joined the remnants of the troops of Colonel Karyagin.
Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all officers and soldiers - awards and salaries, Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the moat - a monument at the headquarters of the regiment.

In conclusion, we consider it not superfluous to add that Karyagin began his service as a private in the Butyrka infantry regiment during the Turkish war of 1773, and the first cases in which he participated were the brilliant victories of Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. Here, under the impression of these victories, Karyagin for the first time comprehended the great secret of controlling the hearts of people in battle and gained that moral faith in the Russian man and in himself, with which he subsequently never considered his enemies.
When the Butyrka regiment was moved to the Kuban, Karyagin fell into the harsh atmosphere of Caucasian life, was wounded during the assault on Anapa, and from that time, one might say, did not come out from under enemy fire. In 1803, upon the death of General Lazarev, he was appointed chief of the seventeenth regiment located in Georgia. Here, for the capture of Ganja, he received the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, and the exploits in the Persian campaign of 1805 made his name immortal in the ranks of the Caucasian corps.
Unfortunately, constant campaigns, wounds, and especially fatigue during the winter campaign of 1806 completely upset Karyagin's iron health; he fell ill with a fever, which soon developed into a yellow, rotten fever, and on May 7, 1807, the hero passed away. His last award was the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, received by him a few days before his death.

"Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not look like real military history. It looks like a prequel to" 300 Spartans "(40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks," This is crazy! - No, it's 17- th jaeger regiment! "). The golden page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian arrogance. But first things first.

In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long faded by that time, and the British, who never had a normal ground army. Both those and others behaved like complete fools, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the power of his genius, could not do something. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, the Persian Baba Khan, who was hummingly reading reports about our European defeats, had an Ideyka.

Baba Khan stopped purring and again went to Russia, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual staging of the familiar drama "The crowd of so-called allies-crooked-handed and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone", St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that the whole Caucasus was from 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers.

Therefore, upon learning that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza were going to the city of Shusha (this is in present-day Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan), where Major Lisanevich was stationed with 6 companies of rangers, Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the hero Karyagin, the hero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.

Then he walked another 14 versts and set up a fortified camp, the so-called wagenburg or, in Russian, gulyai-gorod, when the line of defense was built from carts (given the Caucasian off-road and the lack of a supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them).

The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funeral, crying and writing postcards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual "Military art for dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if you are 40,000, and his 400"), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenish water supplies. In response, the Russians made a sortie, made their way to the Persian battery and blew it up, dropping the remnants of the guns into the river.

However, this did not save the situation. After fighting for one more day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lysenko and six more traitors ran over to the Persians, the next day they were joined by 19 more - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. It's uncomfortable.

We decided to break through. At night. Having cut the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants of the program "Staying Alive When You Can't Stay Alive" almost got out of the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a skirmish, then a chase again, then ours finally broke away from the Makhmuds in a dark-dark Caucasian forest and went to a fortress named after the nearby river Shakh-Bulakh.

By that time, a golden aura was shining around the remaining participants of the crazy marathon "Fight as much as you can" (I remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, duels with bayonets and night hide and seek in the forests), a golden aura was shining, so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shakh-Bulakh with a cannonball , after which wearily asked the small Persian garrison: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Is that right? "

The guys got the hint and fled. In the process of the run, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gate, when the main Persian forces appeared, worried about the loss of their beloved Russian detachment. But that was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After an inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the convoy with food had to be abandoned during a breakthrough from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Karyagin went out to the troops again:

- Out of 493 people, 175 of us remained, almost all of them were wounded, dehydrated, exhausted, extremely tired. No food. No wagon train. Kernels and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried several times to take us by storm.

It is he who waits until we die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we will not die. You will not die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to take up all the impudence that you have, because tonight we are leaving the fortress and breaking through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WILL TAKE AN STORM AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON SHOULDERS.

This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is a Russian story, to put sentries on the walls, which will echo among themselves all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We set out as soon as it's dark enough!

With cannons, with carts of the wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a big and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost - and therefore even the soldiers who remained to call each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and overtake the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task.

Moving through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst, a detachment of Russian soldiers encountered a moat through which it was impossible to ferry cannons, and without cannons the assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata had neither sense nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, there was no time to look for a forest - the Persians could overtake at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the others, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the moat. And they went to bed. Like logs. No bravado, no talk, no everything. We jumped down and lay down. The heavy cannons drove straight for them.

Only two rose from the moat. Silently.

On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, for the first time in many days ate and drank normally, and moved on to the Mukhrat fortress. Three miles away from her, a detachment of a little more than a hundred people attacked several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the guns and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: "Karyagin shouted:" Guys, go ahead, save the guns! "

Apparently, the soldiers remembered at what price they got these guns. Red, this time Persian, splashed on the carriages, and it sprayed and poured and poured the carriages, and the earth around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and poured, and poured, and poured until the Persians did not scatter in panic, and failed to break the resistance of hundreds of ours.

Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, July 9th, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have forced half of the Persian army to chase us. The Persians at the Tertara River “, immediately went to meet the Persian army with 2300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then joined the remnants of the troops of Colonel Karyagin.

Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all officers and soldiers - awards and salaries, Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the moat - a monument at the headquarters of the regiment.

When the Butyrka regiment was moved to the Kuban, Karyagin fell into the harsh atmosphere of Caucasian life, was wounded during the assault on Anapa, and from that time, one might say, did not come out from under enemy fire. In 1803, upon the death of General Lazarev, he was appointed chief of the seventeenth regiment located in Georgia. Here, for the capture of Ganja, he received the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, and the exploits in the Persian campaign of 1805 made his name immortal in the ranks of the Caucasian corps.

Unfortunately, constant campaigns, wounds, and especially fatigue during the winter campaign of 1806 completely upset Karyagin's iron health; he fell ill with a fever, which soon developed into a yellow, rotten fever, and on May 7, 1807, the hero passed away. His last award was the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, received by him a few days before his death.

Olga Bartaleva "

The subject for the picture "Living Bridge" Franz Roubaud chose one of the episodes of the Russian-Persian war at the beginning of the 19th century. The canvas depicts the crossing of the cannons of the Russian jaeger regiment, which are transported across the ravine over the bodies of living soldiers.

The plot of the picture

Today's art critics describe the events on the basis of which Roubaud wrote The Living Bridge:

“The plot of this work is a real event that took place during the Russian-Persian war. A small detachment of our army of 350 bayonets, the core of which was the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment, retreated under the onslaught of the 30-thousandth army of Abbas-Mirza.

The path was blocked by a deep ravine, which the two guns in the detachment could not overcome. There was neither time nor materials for the construction of the bridge. Then Private Gavrila Sidorov, with the words: "The cannon is a soldier's lady, you need to help her," lay down first on the bottom of the pit. Ten more people rushed after him. The guns were transported over the bodies of the soldiers, while Sidorov himself died from a head injury. "

Mentions of the feat of Gavrila Sidorov

Even before the painting was painted, the feat of Gavrila Sidorov was mentioned in literary works. For example, in the book of a Russian writer Dmitry Begichev “Everyday life of a Russian nobleman in different epochs and circumstances of his life”, which was published in 1851.

Literary option

In Begichev's book, the story of Gavrila's feat comes from the perspective of an eyewitness to the events - one of the senior officers of the detachment. However, in the literary version, this feat not so tragicas in the painting "Living Bridge". Begichev writes that the basis of the bridge were rifles folded along and across the gully, and the soldiers themselves only supported the entire structure on the sides.

From archival sources

Another source that can be called more "official" for Roubaud could be the five-volume "Caucasian War"... It was published by a military historian who worked with military archives, Colonel Vasily Potto... The publication was published in 1887.

Potto has no clear confirmation and references to sources of information, neither Roubaud's version, nor Begichev's. One thing can be assumed with a high degree of probability: in his painting "Living Bridge" Franz Roubaud "modified" the event itself and reflected it in his own way.

Everyone has heard of the feat of the Greeks at Thermopylae, when their detachment of about 5,000 - 6,000 people detained an army of Persians of 200 - 250 thousand people.

Colonel Karyagin's detachment numbered 500 people against 20 thousand Persians. That is, the ratio was the same as at Thermopylae.

However, the Greeks of that time were heavily armed and well-organized warriors who surpassed the motley and poorly trained troops of the Persians in skill and weapons.

Hoplites on a vase from the Greco-Persian wars. Armament: spear, short sword, round shield, Corinthian helmet, bronze carapace (cuirass)

Xerxes' army consisted of representatives of many peoples and tribes subject to the Achaemenid empire. The warriors of each nationality had their own weapons and armor. The Persians and Medes, according to the description of Herodotus, wore soft felt hats, trousers and colorful tunics. The armor was assembled from iron scales like fish scales, the shields were woven from rods. They were armed with short spears and large bows with reed arrows. On the right thigh was a dagger-sword. The warriors of other tribes were armed much worse, mostly with bows, and often just with clubs and burnt stakes, and dressed in copper, leather and even wooden helmets.

Meanwhile, the Russians had two cannons, against several falconet (small cannon of 50-100 mm caliber) batteries and larger-caliber guns among the Persians.

The Russians held the Persian army not for three days, but for three weeks! In reality, the Battle of Thermopylae was a defeat for the Greeks, if they held the Persians for three weeks, famine would begin in Xerxes' army. And then he would not have captured and plundered a significant part of Greece.

Thanks to the detachment of Colonel Karyagin, the Persians not only did not invade the Caucasus, but in general were then defeated ... by a detachment of 2,400 soldiers of Prince Tsitsianov!

***

At a time when the glory of the Emperor of France Napoleon was growing on the fields of Europe, and the Russian troops, who fought against the French, performed new feats for the glory of Russian arms, on the other side of the world, in the Caucasus, the same Russian soldiers and officers performed no less glorious deeds. One of the golden pages in the history of the Caucasian Wars was written by the colonel of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Karyagin and his detachment.

The state of affairs in the Caucasus in 1805 was extremely difficult. The Persian ruler Baba Khan was eager to regain the lost influence of Tehran after the arrival of the Russians in the Caucasus. The impetus for the war was the capture of Ganzhi by the troops of Prince Tsitsianov. Because of the war with France, Petersburg could not increase the size of the Caucasian corps; by May 1805, it consisted of about 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. Moreover, the troops were scattered over a vast territory. Due to illness and poor nutrition, there was a large shortage, so according to the lists in the 17th Jaeger Regiment there were 991 privates in three battalions, in fact there were 201 people in the ranks.

Upon learning of the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the enemy's advance. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, having 493 soldiers and officers and two guns. The detachment consisted of: the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment under the command of Major Kotlyarevsky, a company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At that time in Shusha there was a major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich with six companies of Jaegers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich's detachment repulsed several attacks of the Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of a part of the population and the likelihood of the capture of Shusha by the Persians, Lisanevich did not do this.

On June 24, the first battle took place with the Persian cavalry (about 3000) crossing the Shah-Bulakh river. Several attacks of the enemy trying to break through the square were repulsed. After passing 14 versts, the detachment camped at the mound of the Kara-Agach-BaBa tract on the river. Askaran. In the distance the tents of the Persian armada under the command of Pir Quli Khan could be seen, and it was only the vanguard of the army, which was commanded by the heir to the Persian throne Abbas Mirza. On the same day, Karyagin sent Lisanevich a demand to leave Shusha and go to him, but the latter, due to the most difficult situation, could not do this.

At 18.00 the Persians began to storm the Russian camp, the attacks continued with a break until nightfall. Suffering heavy losses, the Persian commander took his troops to the heights around the camp, and the Persians installed four falconet batteries for shelling. From the early morning of July 25, the bombardment of our location began. According to the recollections of one of the participants in the battle: "Our situation was very, very unenviable and became worse from hour to hour. The unbearable heat depleted our strength, we were tormented by thirst, and the shots from the enemy batteries did not stop ...".

Several times the Persians offered the detachment commander to lay down their arms, but they were invariably refused. In order not to lose the only source of water on the night of June 27, a group sortie was made under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Second Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy the enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, the servants were partly killed, partly fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half of them had wounds of varying severity.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov of June 26, 1805: "Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive out the enemy who was in front and occupied high places, drove out strong crowds with courage. Captain Parfenov, Captain Klyukin in the whole battle on different occasions were sent me with the riflemen and struck the enemy with fearlessness. "

At dawn on June 27, the approaching main forces of the Persians began the assault on the camp. Attacks were carried out again throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon, an incident occurred that forever remained a black spot in the glorious history of the regiment. Lieutenant Lysenko and six lower ranks ran to the enemy. Having received information about the plight of the Russians, Abbas-Mirza threw his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night 19 more soldiers ran over to the Persians. Realizing the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transfer of comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement, go to the river. Shah-Bulakh and occupy a small fortress standing on its bank. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: "... in order not to subject the remainder of the detachment to complete and final death and to save the people and the guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy that surrounded from all sides ..."

A local resident, an Armenian Melik Vani, became a guide in this desperate venture. Leaving the baggage train and burying the captured weapons, the detachment set off on a new campaign. At first, they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with the enemy's horse patrol and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still the battle group did not bring good luck to the Persians, moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to plunder the empty Russian camp. According to legends, the Shah-Bulakh ball castle was built by Shah Nadir, and got its name from a stream flowing nearby. In the castle there was a Persian garrison (150 people) under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the suburbs occupied the positions of the enemy. Seeing the Russians, the sentries raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots of Russian guns rang out, a well-aimed cannonball broke the gate, and the Russians burst into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: "... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and out of the forest with a small loss on our side. Both khans were killed on the enemy side ... Having settled in the fortress, I await your Excellency's orders." By evening, there were only 179 men in the ranks, and 45 cannon charges. Upon learning of this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: "In unprecedented despair, I ask you to support the soldiers, and I ask God to support you."

Meanwhile, our heroes suffered from lack of food. The same Melik Vani, whom Popov calls "the good genius of the detachment", volunteered to get supplies. The most amazing thing is that the brave Armenian coped with this task superbly, the repeated operation also bore fruit. But the position of the detachment became more and more difficult, the more the Persian troops approached the fortification. Abbas Mirza tried to knock the Russians out of the fortification on the move, but his troops suffered losses and were forced to go over to the blockade. Believing that the Russians were trapped, Abbas Mirza invited them to lay down their arms, but was refused.

From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov of June 28, 1805: "Second lieutenant Zhudkovsky of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment, who, despite the wound, volunteered as a hunter when taking batteries and acted like a brave officer, and of the 7th Artillery Regiment, Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich, who, when almost all his gunners were wounded, he loaded the guns and knocked out the carriage under the enemy's cannon. "

Karyagin decides to take an even more incredible step, to break through the hordes of the enemy to the Mukhrat fortress, not occupied by the Persians. On July 7 at 22.00 this march began, a deep ravine with steep slopes appeared on the way of the detachment. Men and horses could overcome it, but what about the tools? Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. The first gun flew over like a bird to the other side, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: "... the detachment continued to move, calmly and without hindrance, until the two guns that were with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest to make a bridge; four soldiers volunteered to help the cause, crossing themselves lay in the moat and the guns were transported along them. Two survived, and two paid with their lives for heroic self-sacrifice. "

"A living bridge, an episode from Colonel Karyagin's campaign to Mukhrat in 1805". Franz Roubaud

On July 8, the detachment came to Ksapet, from here Karyagin sent forward carts with the wounded under the command of Kotlyarevsky, and he himself moved after them. Three versts from Mukhrat, the Persians rushed to the column, but were repulsed by fire and bayonets. One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is not a thing at all. Karyagin screamed. : "Guys, go ahead, save the guns!" Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the way. " Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas-Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to seize it, but here the Persians also failed. Kotlyarevsky's disabled team threw back the Persian horsemen. By evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat, according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.

Having received a report on July 9, Prince Tsitsianov gathered a detachment of 2371 people with 10 guns and went out to meet Karyagin. On July 15, the detachment of Prince Tsitsianov, having thrown the Persians away from the Tertara River, camped near the village of Mardagishti. Upon learning of this, Karyagin leaves Mukhrat at night and goes to join his commander.

Having made this amazing march, Colonel Karyagin's detachment for three weeks riveted the attention of almost 20,000 Persians and did not allow them to go into the interior of the country. For this campaign, Colonel Karyagin was awarded a golden sword with the inscription "for bravery." Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin has been in service since April 15, 1773 (Smolensk Monetary Company), since September 25, 1775, a sergeant of the Voronezh Infantry Regiment. Since 1783, second lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion (1st Battalion of the Caucasian Jaeger Corps). Participant in the storming of Anapa on June 22, 1791, received the rank of major. Chief of Defense Pambak in 1802. Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment since May 14, 1803. For the storming of Ganja he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

Late silver medal "For the Persian War" in 1826 - 1828.

Major Kotlyarevsky was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree, the surviving officers were awarded the Orders of St. Anne of the 3rd degree. Avanes Yuzbashi (Melik Vani) was not left without a reward, he was promoted to ensign and received 200 rubles in silver in his life pension. The feat of private Sidorov in 1892, in the year of the 250th anniversary of the regiment, was immortalized in a monument installed at the headquarters of the Erivans Manglis.

References

1. Popov K. Temple of Glory. T. 1. - Paris, 1931. - S. 142.

2. Popov K. Decree. op. - p. 144.

3. Bobrovsky P.O. The history of His Majesty's 13th Life-Grenadier Erivan Regiment for 250 years. T. 3. - SPb, 1893 .-- P. 229.

4. Popov K. Decree op. - p. 146.

5. Viskovatov A. The exploits of the Russians beyond the Caucasus in 1805 // Northern Bee, 1845. - pp. 99-101.

6. Library for reading // Everyday life of a Russian nobleman in different periods of his life. T.90. - SPb, 1848 .-- p. 39.

Better Than Movies: The Icahn Case and the Living Bridge October 27th, 2015

Painting "Living Bridge" by Franz Roubaud. Apparently, the case was not at all as drawn. But the episode is real.

For the mood - a thematic Cossack song, just about the first episode.

The first case, the Icahn case, is impressive in its scale. quite informative and laconic. Below, I quote almost entirely, and I confess to this. But you can still refer to the source itself:. Anyway, everything in quotes is quotes from there.

Turkestan, December 1864. Campaign against the Kokand Khanate. Commandant Zhemchuzhnikov, received information that “in the vicinity of the city a gang of Kokands, numbering up to 400 people, and on December 4, 1864, he sent a hundred Esaul Serov, reinforced with 1 cannon, to inspect the area and to destroy the Kokand rebels”. Against such a gang, it was quite reasonable to send relatively small forces. "In total, the detachment under the command of Serov consisted of 2 officers, 5 non-commissioned officers, 98 Cossacks, in addition, 4 artillerymen, a paramedic, a baggage train and three messengers of Kazakhs were attached to the hundred."

However, having reached the village of Ikan, the Cossack hundred ran into not a flying detachment, but the main forces of the Kokand people - about ten thousand people! This army went no less to take the city of Turkestan.
Having met such a superior enemy, the Cossack hundred did not flee and did not surrender. On the contrary, in the bare empty steppe, the Cossacks took up a perimeter defense.
“For two days (December 4 and 5), without food and water, the Urals kept a perimeter defense in the bare steppe, hiding behind the bodies of dead horses. The rifle company sent from Turkestan to the rescue under the command of Lieutenant Sukorko could not break through, they were prevented by the detachment of Sultan Syzdyk Kenesaryuly. A small cavalry detachment of Syzdyk blocked the Sukorko company from the direction of Turkestan and twisted around the city for almost two days. Then the captain Serov gave the command to a hundred to break through on their own. In the early morning of December 6, the Cossacks stood up in squares and marched through the Kokand army. Having passed about 15 miles with a battle, they finally met with a new detachment from Turkestan and returned to the fortress. "
…
“The losses were: one of the two officers was killed, Serov himself was wounded in the upper chest and wounded in the head; 4 out of 5 police officers were killed, 1 wounded; out of 98 Cossacks, 50 were killed, 36 were wounded, 4 gunners were wounded; a paramedic, a transport vehicle and one Kazakh were killed. "

“All the Cossacks who survived the battle were awarded the Military Order Badge of Distinction, Serov himself was awarded the Order of St. George of the 4th degree and promoted to military foreman (January 19, 1865).

On October 7, 1884, in the 4th hundred of the 2nd Ural Cossack regiment, special insignia for the Ikan battle were introduced on headdresses. Subsequently, in Tashkent, one of the streets was named Ikanskaya. "

Photo of the participants in the Ican case 25 years after the battle.
Real people.

A capricious joke suggests itself: there were only a hundred Cossacks against ten thousand! And if there were hundreds of them, they would be rolled out.
And here you are, there was such a case. True, half a century earlier. And, frankly, not that it was rolled out, but the initiative was already on our side.

The next episode is also about considerable stamina and skill - Karyagin's campaign and the living bridge.

June 1805, Transcaucasia. Corresponding Wikipedia page (hereinafter, unless otherwise indicated, quotes from there).
The Russo-Persian war of 1804-1813 is going on. Its events will become part of the Great Game between Britain and Russia in Central Asia. The one in which the "Englishwoman shits."

Picture from here.

On July 8, the huntsmen took Mukhrat. “... Three miles away from her, a detachment of a little more than a hundred people attacked several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the guns and capture them. As one of the officers recalled: Karyagin shouted: "Guys, go ahead, save the guns!" Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have been making half of the Persian army chase us. Persians by the river Tertara ", immediately set out to meet the Persian army with 2300 soldiers and 10 guns" (Wikipedia).
This campaign didn't just bother the Persians. He literally tied the army of Abbas Mirza in continuous battles and gave Tsitsianov the opportunity to prepare for the strike.
“On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then joined the remnants of Colonel Karyagin's detachment.” And "on the evening of July 27, a detachment of 600 bayonets under the command of Karyagin unexpectedly attacked the camp of Abbas Mirza near Shamkhor and utterly defeated the Persians" (Wikipedia).
The war continued, but the Persians could no longer realize their overwhelming advantage. Five hundred people with several guns stopped forty thousand people. Where to this cinematic inventions!

For this campaign Karyagin received "a golden sword, all officers and soldiers - awards and salaries." A monument was erected to Gavrila Sidorov at the regimental headquarters.
This heroic campaign was not the only feat of the 17th Jaeger Regiment. For all the feats during the Persian war in 1816, the light jaeger regiment was promoted to the grenadier regiments by the highest decree and received the name of the 7th Carabinier. He then became the 13th Erivan Life Grenadier Regiment.

“For many regiments of the Russian army, the Caucasus was the cradle of their glory, and many well-deserved veteran regiments have maintained their combat reputation since the times of Peter the Great. Hero of Poltava - the 13th Life Grenadier Erivan Regiment, leading its pedigree since 1636, became here the most titled in the entire Russian army, surpassing in the number of combat regalia the regiments of the Petrovsky brigade - Life Guards Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky. The Erivan warriors, "descending like rain" in Gimry, proved to the whole world that where "the deer does not pass, the Russian soldier will make his way." - Nesterov A. From an article dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the Caucasian Military District (quote from Wikipedia from here).

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