Fire of Moscow (1812)
The burning of Moscow (1812) lasted from 14. September bis 18th September 1812 during the occupation of Moscow by Napoleon's troops. The Russian army left Moscow after the Battle of Borodino . The fire practically devastated the entire White City (Russian Белый город ) and Earth City (Russian Земляной город ) as well as large parts of the Moscow outskirts, with three quarters of the buildings being destroyed.
prehistory
After the Battle of Borodino, Field Marshal Kutuzov had announced a Russian victory. The Moscow people felt safe. Only later did it become known that Napoleon was advancing on Moscow with his army. The governor of Moscow Rostopchin assured the population that Moscow was not in danger. Despite this, the first residents left the city and were cursed as traitors and cowards. When the retreating Russian army reached the village of Fili at the gates of Moscow on September 12, many residents believed that the "victorious" Russian army at Borodino would defend Moscow. Rostopchin also called on the residents to defend the city. Several generals in the Russian army also called for a battle at the gates of Moscow, including General Bennigsen , Kutuzov's chief of staff. On the afternoon of September 13, a Russian council of war in Fili, headed by Kutuzov, decided that Moscow should be abandoned. At 11 o'clock in the evening the withdrawal of the Russian army began. Panic broke out in Moscow.
The Russian officer Friedrich von Schubert (chief quartermaster at the headquarters of Barclay de Tolly ) wrote: “In this city (Moscow) there was great excitement and a ridiculous, victorious presumption by the sudden appearance of our army and the decision to hand Moscow over to the enemy passed, followed by the greatest dejection. The sensible, intelligent people had quietly left the city before, now the lower classes, the poor, the mob, followed in a hurry, almost in a wild flight. In part, they were driven to do this by fear of the violence, of the atrocities which they, as it was said, perpetrated against all Russians, but to a great extent also the fanaticism that Rostopchin and the clergy had instilled in them. It had been preached to them that it was a sin to have any fellowship with these heretics, these temple molesters, that it was treason against the tsar and the fatherland to remain and accept the common enemy; they should all move away. "
Rostopchin, who advocated the defense of Moscow and had a conversation with Kutuzov before the war council in Fili, later wrote: “The conversation showed me the low-mindedness, fearfulness and indecision of this army leader, who has received the title of savior of Russia without admitting him There is no historian who considers Kutuzov's decision not to fight in Moscow to be wrong. Rostopchin's statement therefore seems more like a justification for his behavior as governor of the city.
In order to effectively hinder the fight against a fire, Rostopchin had all fire engines in the city destroyed. The Russian army had to leave several thousand wounded and sick in Moscow because the available means of transport were insufficient.
The Moscow fire
September 14th
The French vanguard under Murat had already approached the city. The evacuation of the city was in full swing. Even a large part of the Russian army was still in the city. General Miloradowitsch , who led the Russian rearguard, sent a parliamentarian to the French vanguard and wanted to negotiate with Murat. A few hours later, General Sebastiani appeared instead of Murat . After Clausewitz , who was in Russian service, they had a long conversation. Miloradovich declared that it would take another 24 hours to evacuate the city. Sebastiani pointed out that the Russian army had already been outflanked on both sides, whereupon Miloradovich told him that the city would be bitterly defended if this demand was not complied with. This would lead to massive destruction in the city. Sebastiani finally agreed because the French wanted to take possession of the city intact. It was also agreed that the head of the French vanguard should only march into Moscow two hours after the Russian rearguard had withdrawn.
The Russian rearguard moved into Moscow around three o'clock in the afternoon and, according to Clausewitz, positioned themselves about 700 paces east of the city between five and six o'clock. No sooner had she assumed this position than several regiments of enemy cavalry appeared. Miloradowitsch sent a parliamentarian again and asked for a meeting with Murat. Again only Sebastiani appeared. The conversation resulted in both sides standing idly by. Clausewitz already reports here that columns of smoke were already rising in several places in the outermost suburbs. The French cavalry units included two Prussian regiments, including Brandenburg Uhlans. Clausewitz took the opportunity to send news home through a Prussian officer. He wasn't the only officer talking to the enemy. During this ceasefire there were several contacts and conversations with the enemy until this was stopped by orders from a higher authority. Clausewitz attributed the isolated fires to the general confusion. The French vanguard was less concerned with the city than with the Russian rearguard. In contrast, there were still Cossacks in the city itself.
Sequence of events
In the morning hours of September 3rd jul. / September 15, 1812 greg. Napoleon appeared in the Kremlin with his bodyguards , accompanied by the sounds of the Marseillaise . The flames seized the Kitai-Gorod district close to the Kremlin walls. On the morning of the following day Napoleon left the Kremlin and moved into the Pyetrovsky Palace. His escort managed to reach the bank of the Moskva River through the burning Arbat Street.
After the devastation of three quarters of the city area, the fire started on September 6th July. / September 18, 1812 greg. slowly going out. Napoleon came back to the Kremlin. A ruling by the French military court were on September 12 jul. / September 24, 1812 greg. the first arsonists shot dead.
The French troops marched on October 6th July. / October 18, 1812 greg. or October 7th jul. / October 19, 1812 greg. from Moscow.
The causes of the fire
There are several interpretations of the causes: the expedient burning of the deserted city on the orders of the governor Rostopchin, the arson by Russian saboteurs and the arson by careless handling of open fire by drunken French soldiers. Since there were several sources of fire, all three possibilities cannot be ruled out.
The consequences of the fire
According to later estimates, the flames engulfed:
- 6,496 of 9151 houses (including 6584 wooden and 2567 bricked)
- 8251 shops, storage rooms, etc.
- 122 of 329 churches (not including looting).
2000 wounded Russian soldiers who could not be taken away by the army were killed in the fire.
The fire devastated the university, the Buturlin library, the Petrovsky and Arbat theaters. The number of residents fell from 270,000 to 215,000. Moscow lost a considerable part of its architectural monuments, especially traditional wooden structures. On the other hand, the destruction of entire districts made it possible to radically modernize the city.
Rebuilding
In February 1813, Tsar Alexander I Romanov appointed a “Commission for Construction in Moscow”, which was active until 1843. The general urban development plan of Moscow was approved in 1817. At that time the Sadowoje Kolzo ( Garden Ring ) ring road was passed through the devastated areas .
Reverberation in Europe
The Moscow fire made a great impression on contemporaries. In Berlin , a few months after the event, Karl Friedrich Schinkel exhibited an illuminated and, in some cases, movable diagram that met with great interest from the public.
Web links
- From the homepage of the exhibition : "Schinkel History & Poetry"
Remarks
- ↑ Lieven p. 257.
- ↑ Kleßmann p. 191f
- ↑ Palmer p. 175.
- ^ Clausewitz: The campaign of 1812 and the wars of liberation 1813-1815. 3rd edition, p. 138.
source
- Carl von Clausewitz: The campaign of 1812 in Russia, the campaign from 1813 to the armistice and the campaign of 1814 in France , Ferdinand Dümmler, Berlin 1835
- Eckart Kleßmann: Napoleon's Russian campaign in eyewitness reports , Karl Rauch Verlag, Düsseldorf 1964
- Alan Palmer: Napoleon in Russia , S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1967
- Dominic Lieven : Russia against Napoleon , C. Bertelsmann Verlag, Munich 2011 - ISBN 978-3-570-10050-9 .
- Johannes Ambrosius Rosenstrauch, "Historical events in Moscow in 1812 at the time the enemy was in this city" (German text), in: IA Rozenštrauch, "Istoričeskie proisšestvija v Moskve 1812 goda vo vremja prisutstvija v sem gorode neprijatelja", Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie, Moscow 2015 - ISBN 978-5-4448-0270-0 .