Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Sadunaisky

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Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Sadunajski , in German sometimes Romanzow , ( Russian Пётр Александрович Румянцев-Задунайский ., Scientific transliteration Pëtr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunajskij ; born January 4 . Jul / 15. January  1725 greg. In Moscow , † December 8 July / 19 December  1796 greg. near Taschan ) was a field marshal of the Russian army .

Count Rumyantsev-Sadunaiski

Life

origin

Rumyantsev was born on January 4, 1725 in Moscow and named after Tsar Peter the Great . His father was the general Alexander Ivanovich Rumjanzew (1680–1749), who was raised to the rank of count by Elisabeth in 1743 . Since Pyotr's mother had spent a lot of time in the company of Peter I, it was rumored that Pyotr was the natural son of the Tsar.

Seven Years War

He first served under his father in the war against Sweden (1741–43), and it was he who brought the message of the Åbo peace treaty to the Tsarina in 1743 . He was then promoted to colonel . He earned his first military fame in the battles of the Seven Years' War , namely in 1757 near Groß-Jägersdorf and in 1759 near Kunersdorf , where he commanded the center of the Russian battle formation. On December 16, 1761, after four months of siege, he took the Kolberg fortress . Owning the port city made it possible for the Russian army to winter in Pomerania for the first time and thus a constant threat to the Oder line.

Governor of Lesser Russia

During the reign of Tsarina Catherine II , Rumyantsev was Governor General of Little Russia ; a position his father had already held. Rumyantsev did everything there to eliminate the autonomy of the atamans and to integrate the newly conquered territories firmly into the Russian Empire. During this time he built a residence in Katschanowka , today's Tarnowski Castle .

Russo-Ottoman War (1768–1774)

Rumjanzjew's victory over the Turks 1770, etching by Daniel Chodowiecki

After the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War in 1768, Rumyantsev received command of the army in 1770. On June 28, 1770, not far from the Räbnia Mogila, he routed 20,000 Turks, won a decisive victory over the 80,000-strong army of the Tatar Khan on July 18 in the Battle of Larga , and defeated the Tartar Khan on August 1 in the Battle of Cahul formed the 150,000-strong army of the Grand Vizier with only 17,000 men and concluded the Peace of Küçük Kaynarca on July 21, 1774 . For his victories he was honored with the honorary title Sadunaiski (ie crossing the Danube) and elevated to the rank of field marshal by Tsarina Katharina. He also received an estate with 5,000 souls (i.e. serf peasants) as a gift.

At this point in his career Rumyantsev was undoubtedly at the height of his fame as a general. It is said that other generals, notably Potyomkin , were so jealous of his fame that they did everything possible to prevent Rumyantsev from ever being given an independent command again. King Friedrich II of Prussia also paid tribute to his military achievements by awarding him the Order of the Black Eagle in 1776 .

Russo-Austrian Turkish War (1787–1792)

During the Second Russo-Turkish War Rumyantsev-Sadunajski suspected Prince Potjomkin of deliberately withholding the supplies he needed for his army, and therefore resigned his command. In the Polish campaign of 1794 he was reappointed commander in chief, but in fact the troops were led into battle by his rival Suvorov . Rumyantsev spent his last years on his estate near Tashan in the Ukraine, which he had converted into a fortress. There he died on December 8, 1796, just a few months after Catherine II.

progeny

His son Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumjanzew (1754-1826) became a Russian statesman and minister.

Works

Rumyantsev wrote several works on modern warfare and military issues, which formed the theoretical basis for the reorganization of the Russian army by Potjomkin.

literature

Sasonow (Moscow 1803, 4 vol.) And Tschitschagow (Petersburg 1849) described his life.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Source: Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : Neues Preuß. Adelslexikon, Volume 2, Page 95