Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly

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Barclay de Tolly , painting by George Dawe

Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly ( Russian Михаил Богданович Барклай-де-Толли transcribed Mikhail Bogdanovich Barklai-de-Tolli; born December 16, jul. / 27. December  1761 greg. In Pomautsch ( lithuanian Pamūšis), community Scheimeln (lithuanian Žeimelis ), today part of the Rajongemeinde Pakruojis , Lithuania ; † May 13, 1818 in Insterburg , Prussia ) was a Russian field marshal and minister of war .

Life

Origin and military advancement

Barclay de Tolly came from a German Baltic family with Scottish roots ( Clan Barclay), who found their home in Livonia in the 17th century . Michael Andreas (Michael Bogdanowitsch) was born in 1761, the son of Weinhold-Gotthard Barclay (1734–1781, Russian sources gave him the name Bogdan) and Margaret Elizabeth von Smitten (1733–1771) the daughter of a pastor. Michael Andreas joined the Russian army at the age of 15 and took part in the battles against the Turks (1788–1789) and against the Swedes and Poles (1790 and 1794). He was promoted to colonel in 1798 and to the rank of major general in 1799 . Barclay de Tolly was a member of the Academy of Charitable Sciences in Erfurt .

In the coalition war against Napoleon (1806) Barclay de Tolly played a decisive role in the battle of Pułtusk and was wounded at Prussian Eylau . Because of his personal bravery, he was promoted to lieutenant general.

In the Russo-Swedish War (1808-1809) for supremacy in Finland , he conquered Umeå as commander-in-chief of the Finnish army after a daring march across the frozen Gulf of Bothnia . On April 1, 1809 he was promoted to General of the Infantry and on April 10, appointed Governor General of Occupied Finland.

On February 1, 1810, he was appointed Minister of War, during which time he made a major contribution to strengthening the Russian army by doubling the army and building fortresses.

In mid-March 1812 he left St. Petersburg and went to Vilna to take command of the 1st Russian Western Army at the beginning of April. In between, he stayed on March 26th with his cousin Augustus Wilhelm Barclay in Riga to inspect the city's fortifications and the troops stationed there. The affairs of the Minister of War were taken over by his deputy, Prince Alexei Ivanovich Gorchakov, initially as a substitute and from September 1812 in person.

The Russian campaign in 1812

Barclay de Tolly memorial in Chernyakhovsk (Insterburg)

After the beginning of the Russian campaign in 1812 , Barclay de Tolly had nominal supreme command of the entire Russian army in addition to the 1st Western Army at the end of June 1812. The numerically inferior Russian armed forces could not initially have held out in open battle against the French Grande Army . Barclay's strategy was to let the main French army under Napoleon deep into Russia, destroy all usable magazines and food, and then start ambushed counter-attacks ( scorched earth tactics ). The Russian troops were supposed to keep the evasive and retreating forces effective in making the decision. Similarly, a century earlier, the Swedes under Charles XII. weakened and defeated in the vast Russian area. His critics at court did not see this tactic as a foresight, but a sign of indecision and cowardice. In particular, the fire in Smolensk and the loss of this old Russian metropolis, Barclay was interpreted by many Russians as treason by a “Baltic German”. Tsar Alexander I did not want to give up threatened Moscow without a fight and on August 20 transferred the supreme command to Prince Mikhail Kutuzov . The recalled Barclay de Tolly was still celebrated because of his personal courage and bravery in battle. In the battle of Borodino on September 7th as an army leader, he lost five horses in the fight; nine of his twelve aides were killed or wounded. For his personal commitment he was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd class. At the beginning of October 1812 he had to leave the army for health reasons.

In the wars of liberation

As early as 1813 he returned to the service of the Russian army and took part in the battles at Thorn , Großgörschen and Bautzen during the wars of liberation . After the Battle of Bautzen (May 20/21) he was reappointed commander in chief of the Russian troops. In mid-October 1813, he led the Russian army together with Count von Wittgenstein in the Battle of Leipzig . Even before that, on May 25, 1813, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. awarded the Order of the Black Eagle . His associations conquered Liebertwolkwitz , tried unsuccessfully to conquer the strategically important Probstheida on October 18, but stormed the windmill and sand gate in Leipzig on October 19 . Barclay de Tolly was also the commander in chief of the Russian army on its advance into France and took part in the capture of Paris in 1814.

Last years of life

After the end of the war, he was raised from the rank of count to prince . He retired in Livonia , his wife's homeland, and died on May 13th July. / May 25,  1818 greg. at Gut Stilitzen near Insterburg ( Prussia ) on the journey to Karlsbad. The rumors that it was poisoning have proven to be unfounded. The entry in Helmet's death register names “gallstone” as the cause of death. Barclay de Tolly was embalmed and brought to Riga, where on May 30th July. / June 11,  1818 greg. a large funeral service was held and the coffin was laid out at the Crown Church of St. Jacob .

July 13th jul. / July 25,  1818 greg. Then the funeral took place on his Livonian Gut Beckhof (Estonian Jõgeveste ), municipality of Helme .

Commemoration

In 1823, a mausoleum in the classical style was built near the manor, in which Barclay de Tolly and his on May 17th jul. / May 29,  1828 greg. deceased wife Helene Auguste Eleonore von Smitten (born 1770) are buried. In his honor his bust was placed in the Valhalla ; another bust stands on a monument in the square named after him in the Estonian city of Dorpat . In 1913, the city of Riga erected a Barclay de Tolly monument created by the sculptor Wilhelm Wandschneider with a nearly five-meter bronze statue of Barclay de Tolly, which was cast in the Lauchhammer art foundry . It was already lost in 1915 when it was brought from the city to the steamer Serbino before the German occupation , which was sunk in the Bay of Riga on August 16 by the German submarine U9 . Based on a preserved model, the statue was reconstructed in 2002 and placed again on the original base. A few years ago a monument was erected in Chernyakhovsk (Insterburg), which depicts him as a general on horseback.

The world literature work War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy , published in 1868, bears an essential responsibility for the fact that for decades Barclay de Tolly's services in defending Russia against Napoleon were mainly attributed to Kutuzov , especially in Russia . Tolstoy corresponded to the emancipation trend that began in Russia in the 19th century, which wanted to push back the merits of foreign leaders in favor of Russian developments (cf. Russification ).

Against the background of this historical revision, Alexander Pushkin dedicated his poem “Der Feldherr” to Barclay de Tolly in 1834 ( Unfortunate general! How your fate considered you so scantily / Whether your heart immediately sacrificed everything to the foreign land / ... / That people, to the you choose to be saved from shame / dares to revile your holy old man's head in cheeky arrogance ).

Since Barclay's family was threatened with extinction at the end of the 19th century, the title of prince was transferred to his sister's family ( Alexander Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn ).

The Russian airline Aeroflot has named part of its Boeing 777 fleet after military leaders from the wars against Napolon. The Boeing 777 with the registration VP-BGD - 41681 bears the name M. Barklay-de-Tolly.

literature

Web links

Commons : Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in the burial register of the municipality of Helmet, Estonia (Estonian: Helme kogudus)
  2. ↑ Louis Schneider: Das Buch vom Schwarzen Adler (= The Prussian medals, decorations and awards , Vol. 9). Duncker, Berlin 1870, p. 206
  3. ↑ No. 23 of the Riga City Gazette of June 4, 1818 [1]
  4. ↑ Estonian Archives SAAGA [2] , documents EAA.1296.2.6 (page 9) and EAA.1296.2.4 (page 376) - user registration required.
  5. ↑ Barclay-de-Tolly-Mausoleum Archived copy ( Memento from September 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ [3]
personal data
SURNAME Barclay de Tolly, Michael Andreas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barclay de Tolly, Michail Bogdanowitsch
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Baltic officer as well as Russian general and minister of war
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1761
PLACE OF BIRTH Scheimeln municipality , Lithuania
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1818
Place of death Insterburg , Prussia