Russian general (1761?1818)
Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
[nb 1]
(baptised 27 December [
O.S.
16 December] 1761 ? 26 May [
O.S.
14 May] 1818) was a
Russian
Field Marshal
who figured prominently in the
Napoleonic Wars
.
Barclay was born into a
Baltic German
family from
Livland
. His father was the first of his family to be accepted into the
Russian nobility
. Barclay joined the
Imperial Russian Army
at a young age in 1776. He served with distinction in the
Russo-Turkish War (1787?92)
, the
Russo-Swedish War (1788?90)
, and the
Ko?ciuszko Uprising
(1794).
In 1806, Barclay began commanding in the Napoleonic Wars, distinguishing himself at the
Battle of Pułtusk
that same year. He was wounded at the
Battle of Eylau
in 1807 while his troops were covering the retreat of the Russian army. Because of his wounds, he was forced to leave command. The following year, he carried out successful operations in the
Finnish War
against Sweden. Barclay led a large number of Russian troops approximately 100 km across the frozen
Gulf of Bothnia
in winter during a snowstorm. For his accomplishments, Barclay de Tolly was appointed Governor-General of the
Grand Duchy of Finland
. From 20 January 1810 to September 1812 he was the
Minister of War of the Russian Empire
.
When the
French invasion of Russia
began in 1812, Barclay de Tolly was commander of the
1st Army of the West
, the largest Army to face
Napoleon
. Barclay initiated a
scorched earth
policy from the beginning of the campaign, though this made him unpopular among Russians. After the
Battle of Smolensk
failed to halt the French and discontent among Russians continued to grow,
Alexander I
appointed
Mikhail Kutuzov
as Commander-in-Chief, though Barclay remained in charge of the 1st Army. However, Kutuzov continued the same scorched earth retreat up to Moscow where the
Battle of Borodino
took place nearby. Barclay commanded the right wing and center of the Russian army for the battle. After Napoleon's retreat, the eventual success of Barclay's tactics made him a hero among Russians. He became Commander-in-Chief in 1813 after the
battle of Bautzen
, replacing
Wittgenstein
(who had been appointed after Kutuzov's death early in 1813) and led the
taking of Paris
, for which he was made a Field Marshal. His health later declined and he died on a visit to Germany in 1818.
Early life and family
[
edit
]
Michael Andreas was born to Gotthard Barclay de Tolly (1734?1781) and his wife Margarethe Elisabeth von Smitten (1733-1771). The
Barclay de Tolly family
were German-speaking descendants of the
Scottish
Clan Barclay
. Their ancestor, Peter Barclay, belonged to the
Towie
or Tolly branch of the family and settled in
Rostock
in 1621; his son later moved to
Riga
in Livonia.
[4]
Michael Andreas was born in
Pomautsch
[
lt
]
in the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
[5]
and raised in
Beckhof
, Livonia, which was his mother's family estate. The commonly accepted birth date of 27 December 1761 is actually the day of his baptism in the
Lutheran
church of the town of
Zaumel
.
[6]
Michael Andreas's grandfather, Wilhelm Barclay de Tolly, served as the mayor of Riga, while his father served in the Russian army before being admitted into the ranks of the
Russian nobility
by the Tsar. From 1765, the young Barclay de Tolly grew up in
St. Petersburg
and was raised by his aunt. This was a common occurrence among the German Protestants, and it gave the young man an exposure to higher society unavailable in the Baltic provinces.
The future field marshal started his active service in the
Imperial Russian Army
in 1776, and he would spend the rest of his life with the military. He had two brothers who also served in the Russian army: Axel Heinrich Barclay de Tolly, a Major General of Engineers, and Erich Johann Barclay de Tolly, a Major of Artillery.
[
citation needed
]
Service history
[
edit
]
Barclay was enlisted in the
Pskov Carabineer Regiment
on 13 May 1776, and he achieved the rank of a
cornet
by May 1778.
[
citation needed
]
In the same year, he joined the Imperial
jaeger
regiments, and with his unit was assigned to the army of
Prince Potemkin
.
In 1788?1789, during the
Russo-Turkish War (1787?92)
, Barclay served under the command of
Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym
. During this campaign, he distinguished himself in the taking of
Ochakov
and
Akkerman
. For his role in the capture of Ochakov, he was personally decorated by Prince Potemkin.
In 1789, during the Russo-Swedish War, he was transferred to the Finnish front.
Four years later, he fought in the
Polish Campaign of 1794
, and was decorated for his role in the capture of
Vilnius
.
He was a lieutenant colonel by 1794 after serving as
aide-de-camp
to various senior officers in several campaigns. In that year, he was appointed commander of the Estland Jaeger Corps, and three years later commander of the 4th Jaeger Regiment, becoming its chief in 1799, soon after being promoted to general major for his service in
Poland
.
[8]
In the war of 1806 against Napoleon, Barclay took a distinguished part in the
Battle of Pultusk
(December 1806) and was wounded at the Battle of Eylau (7 February 1807), where his conduct won him promotion to the rank of
lieutenant general
.
After a period of convalescence, Barclay returned to the army and in 1808 commanded operations against the Swedes during the
Finnish War
. In 1809, he successfully marched over the frozen
Gulf of Bothnia
, which allowed him to surprise the enemy and seize
Umea
in Sweden.
For this exploit, immortalized by the Russian poet
Baratynsky
, he was made
full general
and Governor-General of Finland. A year later, he became Minister of War, retaining the post until 1813.
Napoleon's invasion
[
edit
]
During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, Barclay assumed the supreme command of the 1st Army of the West, the largest of the Russian armies facing Napoleon. He used a strategy of retreat leaving behind
scorched earth
from the beginning of the campaign in order to draw the French supply lines deep into Russian territory and retreated to the village of
Tsaryovo-Zaimishche
between
Moscow
and
Smolensk
, although some consider the strategy merely a confluence of diverse circumstances and not attributable to the will of one man.
[10]
Nevertheless, the Russians keenly opposed the appointment of a non-Russian as commander-in-chief. His rivals spread rumors of his being Napoleon's agent, and the populace condemned him as a coward. Barclay was forced by his subordinates and the Tsar to engage Napoleon at
Smolensk
(17?18 August 1812). Napoleon forced Barclay to retreat when he threatened Barclay's only escape route. After the loss of the "Holy City" of Smolensk, the outcry of officers and civilians grew to a point where the Tsar could no longer ignore it. He appointed
Kutuzov
, previously a general at the battle of Austerlitz, as the over-all commander of the Russian forces. Barclay remained General of the 1st Army of the West.
Barclay commanded the right flank at the Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) with great valour and presence of mind, and during the
celebrated council
at
Fili
advised Kutuzov to surrender unfortified Moscow to the enemy. His illness made itself known at that time and he was forced to leave the army soon afterwards.
After Napoleon was driven from Russia, the eventual success of Barclay's tactics made him a
romantic hero
, misunderstood by his contemporaries and rejected by the court. His popularity soared, and his honour was restored by the tsar.
Conquest of France
[
edit
]
Barclay was re-employed in the field and took part in the
German Campaign of 1813
and the
French Campaign of 1814
, which ended the
War of the Sixth Coalition
(1812?1814).
[11]
After Kutuzov's death, he once again became commander-in-chief of the Russian forces at the
Battle of Bautzen
(21 May 1813), and in this capacity he served at
Dresden
(26?27 August 1813),
Kulm
(29?30 August 1813) and
Leipzig
(16?19 October 1813). In the latter battle, he commanded a central part of the Allied forces so effectively that the tsar bestowed upon him the title of
count
.
Barclay took part in the invasion of France in 1814 and commanded the
taking of Paris
, receiving the baton of a Field Marshal in reward. In 1815 he again served as commander-in-chief of the Russian army, which after the
Hundred Days
occupied France, and he was made a prince at the close of the war. As his health grew worse, he left the military and settled down in his
Jogeveste manor
(
German exonym
:
Beckhof
,
Polish
:
Tepelshof
) (in what is now southern Estonia).
[12]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Barclay de Tolly died at
Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk)
,
East Prussia
, on 26 May 1818 (14 May, Old Style) on his way from his Livonian manor to Germany, where he wanted to renew his health. His and his wife Helene Auguste Eleonore von Smitten's remains were embalmed and put into the mausoleum built to a design by
Apollon Shchedrin
and
Vasily Demut-Malinovsky
in 1832 in Jogeveste.
A grand statue of him was erected in front of
Kazan Cathedral, St Petersburg
at the behest of Emperor
Nicholas I
. He is also commemorated by a modern statue in
Riga
, a full-size bronze-mounted statue by Vladimir Surovtsev in
Chernyakhovsk
, a bust monument in
Tartu
, and the so-called "Barclay's leaning house" in Tartu (which was acquired by his widow after his death).
Personal life and family
[
edit
]
In 1791, Michael married his cousin, Auguste Helena Eleonora von Smitten (1770?1828), daughter of Hinrich Johann von Smitten (1731?1782) and Renata Helena von
Stackelberg
(1749?1786). After the extinction of the Barclay de Tolly princely line with his son Magnus on 29 October 1871 (17 October, Old Style),
Alexander II
allowed the field marshal's sister's grandson through female lineage,
Alexander von Weymarn
, to assume the title of
Prince Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn
on 12 June 1872 (31 May, Old Style).
[13]
[14]
Awards and decorations
[
edit
]
-
Russian Empire
:
- Order of St. Andrew
(7 September 1813)
- Order of St. George
- Barclay de Tolly was the second of four full Knights of St. George in the history of the Order. This includes his contemporary, Kutuzov
- 1st class (19 August 1813, no. 11) - "For the defeat of the French at the Battle of Kulm 18 August 1813"
- 2nd class bol.kr. (21 October 1812, no. 44) - "For his part in the Battle of Borodino on 26 August 1812"
- 3rd class (8 January 1807, no. 139) - "In the great reward of bravery and courage, rendered in the battle against the French troops on December 14th at Pultusk, where he commanded the vanguard ahead pravago flank, with a special skill and prudence kept the enemy at all times of battle and overturned Nadezhda"
- 4th class (16 September 1794, no. 547) - "For outstanding courage, rendered against the Polish insurgents in the capture of fortifications and by the mountains. Villeneuve"
- Gold Sword for Bravery
with diamonds and laurels with the inscription" for 20 January 1814" (1814)
- Order of St. Vladimir
, 1st class (15 September 1811), 2nd class (7 March 1807), 4th class (12 July 1788)
- Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
(9 September 1809); diamonds added (9 May 1813)
- Order of St. Anna
, 1st class (7 March 1807)
- Golden Cross for taking Ochakov (7 December 1788)
- Cross "For the victory of Eylau" (1807)
-
Kingdom of Prussia
:
-
Austrian Empire
:
-
Kingdom of Sweden
:
- Kingdom of France
:
-
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
:
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Bath
(1815)
- Sword with diamonds (1816)
-
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
:
-
Kingdom of Saxony
:
Commemoratives and legacy
[
edit
]
- The Nesvizhskiy 4th Grenadier regiment (the General-Field Marshal Prince Barklay-de-Tolli, Mikhail Bogdanovich's) was named for the Prince in 1880s.
- He was also the namesake of a short-lived Russian fortress in the Hawaiian Islands.
- A statue of Barclay de Tolly was erected in 2001 in the Esplanade gardens in
Riga
, evoking an earlier 1913 monument that was melted down for military use during
World War I
.
- Whereas his lineage as a Baltic-Scottish Baron (and as such: Non-Russian) had caused him to be derided by Russian historians in the late 19th and throughout the 20th century in favor of Kutuzov, his image as a leader has undergone a positive reassessment in recent years.
[15]
- The main-belt asteroid
4524 Barklajdetolli
, discovered by
Lyudmila Zhuravleva
in 1981, was named in his honor.
[16]
- In the West
Siberian
river shipping company MRF
RSFSR
(
Barnaul
) operated steam tug Barclay.
[17]
- "Barclay de Tolly" was the name given in 1820 to
Raroia
island in the Tuamotus, French Polynesia.
In 2013, JSC Aeroflot-Russian Airlines received the
Boeing 777
-300ER aircraft manufactured by the Boeing Corporation, named in honor of the outstanding Russian military leader - M. Barclay de Tolly.
[18]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
In
Russian
:
Kni?az' Mihail Bogdanovi? Barklay de Tolli
(
romanization
), also
Barklay-de-Tolli
;
Cyrillic
:
Князь Михаил Богданович Барклай де Толли
, or
Барклай-де-Толли
. In
German
:
Furst Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
.
In the
Encyclopædia Britannica
:
Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly
.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "
Mikhail Bogdanovich, Prince Barclay de Tolly
".
Encyclopedia Britannica
, 20 Dec. 2022. Accessed 10 May 2023.
- ^
Carl Arvid von Klingspor (1882).
Baltisches Wappenbuch
. Stockholm. p. 112.
ISBN
978-0-543-98710-5
. Retrieved
3 April
2019
.
- ^
Barclay, Hubert F. (1933).
A History of the Barclay Family
. Vol. 2. London: St Catherine Press. pp. 279?80.
- ^
(in Russian)
Biography on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense
Archived
29 September 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
(in Lithuanian)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania
Archived
27 September 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
p. 25, Mikaberidze, Russian Officer Corps.
- ^
War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy
. April 2001
. Retrieved
4 April
2018
– via gutenberg.org.
See Book III, Part 2, Chapter 1.
- ^
Michael Josselson, and Diana Josselson,
The Commander: A Life of Barclay de Tolly
(1980).
- ^
Anderson, Sten.
"Hotell De Tolly"
.
hotelldetolly.ee
. Retrieved
4 April
2018
.
- ^
"Genealogisches Handbuch der Oeselschen Ritterschaft, Seite 442"
.
personen.digitale-sammlungen.de
.
- ^
"Genealogisches Handbuch der Oeselschen Ritterschaft, Seite 424"
.
personen.digitale-sammlungen.de
.
- ^
"31 greatest commanders in Russian history"
. russian7.ru. Archived from
the original
on 2016-05-05
. Retrieved
2016-03-22
.
- ^
Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(4524) Barklajdetolli".
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names ? (4524) Barklajdetolli
. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 389.
doi
:
10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4463
.
ISBN
978-3-540-00238-3
.
- ^
Patriotic War of 1812 about the liberation campaigns of the Russian Army of 1813-14. Sources. Monuments. Problems. Materials of the XXIII International Scientific Conference, 3?5 September 2019. Borodino, 2020. // S. Yu. Rychkov. The historical memory about the participants of the Borodino battle in the names of ships. Pages 302-329.
- ^
JSC Aeroflot-Russian Airlines
, aex.ru. 29 March 2013.
Sources
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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