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Aleksey P. Yermolov
'Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov' (
Russian: Алексей Петрович Ермолов), or 'Ermolov' (
June 4 n.s. (
May 24 o.s.)
1777 -
April 23 n.s. (
April 11 o.s.)
1861), was the premier
Russian military hero during the golden age of Russian
Romanticism. His
charismatic leadership of imperial armies was praised in the poems by
Alexander Pushkin,
Vasily Zhukovsky, and others.
Early life
Yermolov was born to a Russian noble family from the
Orlov gubernia. He graduated from the boarding school of the
Moscow University and enlisted in the
Life Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment on
16 January 1787. Four years later, he was promoted to
lieutenant and transferred to the
Nizhegorod Dragoon Regiment with the rank of
captain. He briefly taught at the Artillery and Engineer Cadet Corps in 1793 before being sent to fight the
Polish insurgents in the
Polish campaign of 1794. He participated in the assault on
Praga and received the
Order of St. George (4th class) on 12 January 1795. The next year, Yermolov took part in the
Persian Campaign along the
Caspian Sea. However, he was arrested on 7 January 1799 for alleged participation in
conspiracy against the
Tsar and Yermolov spent two years in
exile to
Kostroma.
After the assassination of
Paul I in 1801, the new emperor,
Alexander I, pardoned Yermolov, who returned to the military and began studying the works of Suvorov, whose disciple he now considered himself. Yermolov was appointed to the 8th Artillery Regiment on 13 May 1801; he then transferred to the horse artillery company on 21 June 1801.
Napoleonic wars
His own military genius blossomed during the
Napoleonic wars. During the 1805 Campaign, Yermolov served in the rear and advance guards and distinguished himself at
Amstetten and
Austerlitz. For his actions, he was promoted to
colonel on 16 July 1806. The following year, he participated in the campaign in
Poland, serving in Prince Bagration's advance guard. He distinguished himself commanding an artillery company in numerous rearguard actions during the retreat to
Landsberg as well as in the
Battle of Eylau. In June 1807, Yermolov commanded horse artillery company in the actions at
Guttstadt,
Deppen,
Heilsberg and
Friedland, garnering the
Order of St. George (3rd class, 7 September 1807). He was promoted to
major general on 28 March 1808 and was appointed inspector of horse artillery companies. In early 1809, he inspected artillery companies of the Army of
Danube. Although his division took part in the 1809 Campaign against
Austria, Yermolov commanded the reserves in
Volhynia and
Podolsk gubernias where he remained for the next two years. In 1811, he took command of the guard artillery company and in 1812, became the
Chief of Staff of the 1st Western Army.
During the
1812 Campaign, Yermolov took part in the retreat to
Smolensk and played an important role in the quarrel between Generals Barclay de Tolly and Bagration. He opposed Barclay’s strategy and appealed to Emperor
Alexander to replace him with Bagration. After the Russian armies united on 2 August, Yermolov fought at Smolensk and Lubino (Valutina Gora) for which he was promoted to
lieutenant general on 12 November 1812 with seniority dating from 16 August 1812. He distinguished himself at
Borodino, where he was lightly wounded leading a counterattack that recaptured the Great Redoubt. For his courage, Yermolov received the
Order of St. Anna (1st class). During the rest of campaign, he served as a duty officer in the headquarters of the main Russian army and fought at Maloyaroslavets. In October-November 1812, Yermolov served in the advance guard under
Miloradovich and fought at Vyazma and Krasnyi. In late November, he commanded one of the detachments in the advance guard under General Rosen taking part in the combats on the Berezina. On 3 December 1812, he was recalled to the main headquarters where he became the
Chief of Staff of the Russian army. Three weeks later, he was appointed commander of the artillery of the Russian armies.
During the European campaigns of
1813 and
1814, Yermolov was in charge of the
artillery corps of the allies. His able command proved crucial to their success in the
Battle of Kulm. In 1813, Yermolov fought at
Lutzen, where he was accused of insubordination and transferred to command the 2nd Guard Division. He then fought at Bautzen, commanding the Russian rearguard during the retreat, and at
Kulm where he was decorated with the
Prussian Iron Cross. In 1814, he distinguished himself in the battle around Paris and was awarded the
Order of St. George on 7 April 1814.
Caucasus
Since 1816, Yermolov (by that time promoted to the rank of full artillery general) was responsible for
Russian military policies in Caucasus. He was appointed as
commander-in-chief of the Russian forces in Georgia and commander of the Independent Georgian Corps on 21 April 1816. He proved himself an able administrator and successfully negotiated with Persia in 1818, receiving promotion to general of infantry on 4 March 1818.
For ten years he was both commander-in-chief of the
Georgian armies and the imperial ambassador in
Persia. His freedom-loving character would often lead him to conflicts with the Ministry of War. But he was adored by his soldiers and generally successful in his subjugation of highlanders of
Dagestan. His career came to an abrupt end when he was held responsible for Russia's initial setbacks during the
Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828 and replaced with
Nicholas I's favorite
Ivan Paskevich.
[1]. Yermolov was discharged on
7 December 1827 with a full pension. However, four years later, Emperor Nicholas restored him in the rank (6 November 1831) and appointed him to the
State Council; Yermolov’s rank of
general of infantry was confirmed in 1833.
Retirement
During the last 30 years of his life, Yermolov lived in seclusion at his manor near
Orel. He was asked to lead a peasant
militia during the
Crimean War but declined on account of poor health. He died on
April 11 (o.s.)/
April 23 (n.s.),
1861 in Moscow and was buried at the Trinity Church in Orel. Yermolov's
memoirs were published posthumously in two volumes.
Awards
In addition to the already mentioned decorations, Yermolov was also decorated with the Russian Orders of
St. Andrew the First Called, of
St. Vladimir (1st class), of
St. Alexander Nevsky, of
the White Eagle, and of
St. Anna (1st class); foreign orders received included the Prussian Orders of
the Red Eagle (1st class) and the
Pour le Mérite, the Austrian Order of Maria Theresa (3rd class), the
Baden Order of Karl Friedrich, the Persian
Order of the Lion and the Sun, and two golden swords for courage (including one with diamonds).
Impact and Trivia
Yermolov was one of the best artillery officers in the Russian army. He proved his abilities throughout the Napoleonic Wars and later in the
Caucasus. However, he was also shrewd and cunning courtier, who often intrigued against his superiors. Because of his enigmatic character, Yermolov was often described as the "Modern Sphinx". He proved himself a ruthless ruler in the Caucasus and distinguished himself brutally suppressing
Chechen uprisings. Yermolov left very interesting and valuable memoirs on his service in 1796-1816. His ''Zapiski'' (Memoirs) are divided into three parts covering his early career, the
Napoleonic wars and his service in the Caucasus.
He was a character in
Tolstoy's novel ''
War and Peace'', and in
Prokofiev's
opera of the same name, based on the novel.
Notes
1. Frederick W. Kagan. ''The Military Reforms of Nicholas I: The Origins of the Modern Russian Army'', Palgrave, 1999, ISBN 0-312-21928-8, p.291.
Further reading
In 2005, Ravenhall Books published his memoirs under titles "The Czar's General: The Memoirs of a Russian General by Alexey Yermolov," translated and edited by Alexander Mikaberidze.
External links
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All About Ermolov
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