(CP), which spread to a number of western provinces of the Russian Empire.
Flashed-well-lo in connection with the revolutionary upsurge in Western Europe - the July re-in-lu-qi-ey of 1830 in France and Belgium -sky re-vo-lu-qi-ey of 1830. Ve-che-rum 17 (29). -skim, by order of in-st-ruk-to-ra of the Warsaw school of under-ho-run-zhih ne-ho-you P. You-sots-to-on-pa- la on the palace of Bel-ve-der - re-si-den-tion of the actual on-me-st-no-ka in the CPU of the Grand Duke Kon-stan-ty-on Pav-lo-vi-cha. With the support of the city-ro-zhan for-go-vor-schi-ki for-hwa-ti-li ar-se-nal (about 40 thousand guns), killed 7 Polish military-on- chal-ni-kov, who kept their loyalty to Ni-ko-lai I, including the military mini-ni-st-ra of the Central Command of the infantry general Count M.F. Gau-ke. Under the influence of these events, instead of Co-ve-ta management Go-su-dar-st-ven-no-go co-ve-ta Tsar-st -va Pol-sko-go after-before-va-tel-but about-ra-zo-va-ny our National Council (December 1830 - January 1831) and the National Government (January - September 1831), headed by Prince A.A. Char-to-ryi-skim (replaced in August by Lieutenant General Count Y.S. Kru-ko-vets-kim). Temporary pra-vi-tel-st-vo-na-zna-chi-lo chief-but-ko-man-duyu-shchim of the Polish army lieutenant-general Yu. -go, you-sa-zav-she-go-sya in the us-lo-vi-yah from-the-day-st-via of the military aid of the Western European states at a time- re-she-nie con-flik-ta pu-tem per-re-go-vo-ditch. One-to-be-zhav-shi from Var-sha-you Kon-stan-tin Pav-lo-vich on the pre-lo-s-the-same Chlo-pits-to-go back from-ve- teal from-ka-zom. Wishing to hold back from military clashes, the Grand Duke, fak-ti-che-ski, handed over the main fortresses to the new Polish ruler according to Mod-lin (we are not in the city of No-you-Dvur-Ma-zo-vets-ki Ma-zo-vets-ko-vo-vod-st-va, Poland) and Za-most-tye (now-not the city of Za-most Lub-lin-sko-go-voo-vo-vo-va) with weapons depots and zero CPU along with Russian gar -ni-zo-nom Var-sha-you. Then Chlo-pits-kim in St. Petersburg on the right-le-on de-le-ga-tion, led by K.F. (F.K.) Druts-kim-Lyu-bets-kim. Before her arrival, Ni-ko-lai I in the “Invocation to the troops and the people of the Tsar-st-va of Poland” dated December 5 (17) and in Ma-ni -fe-ste dated December 12 (24), ras-ra-dil-sya-sta-no-twist Council of administration, residents of the CPU called for non-med-len- but move away “from the pre-stup-to-go, but mi-nut-to-go-to-le-che-niya”, and the Polish army - follow-to-vat with-sya-ge, dan- noy to the Russian im-pe-ra-to-ru as the Polish tsar. Nevertheless, the Polish de-le-ga-tion to-ve-la to the news of Count K. V. Nes-sel-ro-de, and then Ni-ko-lai I, his tre-bo-va-nia: re-re-da-cha in the composition of the CPU ter-ri-to-rii of the former of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Ma-lo-Polish province of the Polish-ko-ro-lev-st-va; co-blu-de-nie im-pe-ra-to-rum Kon-sti-tu-tion of the Tsar-st-va of Poland 1815 -ny, including two-zh-dy pre-vy-she-na time-ki so-zy-va Sei-ma, in 1825 from-me-not-to the publicity of his for-se-yes- niy, in 1819, introduced a pre-variant censor-zu-ra); am-ni-stiya teaching-st-ni-kam of the Polish uprising; Russian diplomatic support for the Polish ok-ku-pa-tion Ga-li-tion. No-ko-bark I from-clo-nil pain-shin-st-in tre-bo-va-niy, but promised to am-ni-sti-ro-vat “me-tezh-ni-kov” . After the weight of the firm on the zi-tion im-pe-ra-to-ra and under the pressure of the o-g-ni-zo-van-noy “Pat-rio -ti-che-soc-sche-st-vom ”street ma-ni-fe-sta-tion 13 (25). of the year I announced the downfall of Ni-ko-lai I as the king of the Polish, but kept the constitutional-mo-nar-chic device -state of the CPU, declaring that the Polish people are "free-on-chi-she", having the right to give the Polish co-ro-nu to-mu, whom "her dos-that-nym respects." Soon, the Seim appointed Prince M. Rad-zi-vil-la as the new chief-but-commander of the Polish army but changed, in part-no-sti in February - brigade general Y. Skzhi-nets-kim, in July - di-vi-zi-on General G. Dembinsky).
In February 1831, military operations began between the Russian and Polish armies. Under the yew-com Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal I.I. Di-bi-cha after the first battles near Wav-r and Gro-hu-vom (now-not in the black of Var-sha-you) Polish army from-stu-pi- la to Prague - strong-but uk-re-p-lyon-no-mu eastern near-go-ro-du of Var-sha-you, and then beyond the Vistula River (one-but-time- men-but in February / March, the Russian troops under the command of the chief of staff of the army, infantry general K.F. To-la for-nya-whether the city of Lub-lin). The Russian army on-cha-la under-go-tov-ku to storm Var-sha-you from behind-pa-yes. Two-well-dy Di-beach from-kla-dy-shaft assault; in part, at the order of Ni-ko-lai I, he was waiting for the approach of the Guards Corps of the Grand Duke Mi-khai-la Pav-lo-vi-cha, one -to soon you-drank on the help of your own Guards cor-pu-su and won 2 victories over the Polish army, including 14 (26) May near the city of Ost-ra-len-ka Ma-zo-vets-ko-go voo-vod-st-va. 4-8 (16-20) July Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal I.F. Pas-ke-vi-cha, for-me-niv-she-go from ho-le-ra Di-bi-cha, at the Polish-Prussian frontier for-si -ro-wa-whether the river Vi-s-la and moved-well to Var-sha-ve, someone took the helm on August 26-27 (September 7-8). Pas-ke-vich pre-lo-lived os-tat-kam of the Polish army ka-pi-tu-li-ro-vat, ra-zo-ru-living in Plots-ke and from-right-viv from-to-yes No-to-bark I de-pu-ta-tion with wine-noy (condition-lo-via with-nya-you Y.S. Kru-ko-vets-kim, but from- verg-well-you Se-mom). In September-Tyab-re, the cor-pus of the brig-gad-no-go general J. Ra-mo-ri-no crossed the Austrian border, and in September / October the main part of the Polish army - Prussian gra-ni-tsu, in-ki-nuv ter-ri-to-riyu CPU. Polish uprising for-the-top-shi-elk surrender-whose Russian how-to-skam cre-po-stay Mod-lin (September 26 (October 8) and Za-most-tie (October 9 (21)). Spring - le -that is, the re-stand-ing is also for-tro-well-lo Li-tov-sko-Vi-Len-skaya, Grod-Nen-skaya, Minsk, Vo-lyn-skaya, Po-dol-skaya gu-ber-nii and the Be-lo-sto-kskaya region of the Russian Empire.
Ma-ni-fe-stom dated 20.10 (1.11).1831 Emperor Ni-ko-lai I am-ni-sti-ro-val most of the teaching-st-ni-kov of the Polish uprising, then from-me- neil con-sti-tu-tion of 1815 and introduced the Or-ga-ni-che-sky statute of the Tsar-st-va of Poland of 1832, declaring the CPU part of the Russian im -pe-rii. Ucha-st-ni-ki on-press-le-tion of re-stand-on-gra-g-yes-were “Polish sign from-li-chia for military sub-vi- gi”, uch-re-zh-den-nym in 1831/1832 and is the exact copy of the Polish op-de-na “Virtuti militari”.
The events of the Polish uprising from-ra-zhe-na in verse-ho-two-re-ni-yah by K. De-la-vin-nya “Var-sha-vyan-ka”, V.A. Zhu-kov-sko-go “Old song in a new way”, A.S. Push-ki-on “Before the coffin-ni-tseyu saint ...”, “Kle-vet-ni-kam of Russia”, “Bo-ro-din-skaya year-dov-schi-na”, musical pro-from-ve-de-nii by F. Sho-pe-na - “Re-vo-lu-qi-on-nom” etude de for piano (orchestra 10, c-moll) (all 1831) and others . In memory of those who were killed by the rebels on the first day of the Polish uprising, the military commander of the Polish army in Var-sha-ve us-ta-nov-len pa- mint-nick (1841, author of the project - A. Ko-rats-tsi; destroyed-to-women in 1917).
Historical sources:
War-on with the Polish ski-mi me-tezh-ni-ka-mi 1831 ... // Russian old-ri-na. 1884. Vol. 41, 43;
Mokh-nats-kiy M. Polish revolt in 1830-1831. // There. 1884. T. 43; 1890. T. 65; 1891. T. 69;
Go-li-tsy-na N.I. [Remembrance of the Polish Restoration of 1830-1831] // Russian Ar-Khiv: Is-to-ria Ote-che-st-va in the -de-tel-st-wah and do-ku-men-tah XVIII-XX centuries. M., 2004. Issue. 13.
Polish uprising of 1830-1831. Part I
The uprising of 1830, the November uprising, the Russian-Polish war of 1830-1831 (Polish Powstanie listopadowe) - "national liberation" (the term of Polish and Soviet historiography) or "anti-Russian uprising" (the term of Russian pre-revolutionary historiography) against the power of the Russian Empire on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania, partly Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine - that is, all the lands formerly part of the Commonwealth. It happened simultaneously with the so-called "cholera riots" in central Russia.
It began on November 29, 1830 and continued until October 21, 1831. It was carried out under the slogan of restoring the “historical Commonwealth” within the borders of 1772, that is, not just the secession of territories with a predominantly Polish population, but the complete secession of all territories inhabited by Belarusians and Ukrainians, as well as Lithuanians.
Poland under the rule of the Russian Empire
After the Napoleonic Wars, by decision of the Congress of Vienna, the Kingdom of Poland was created (incorrectly translated into Russian as "Kingdom of Poland" - a term that became widely used after the suppression of the uprising. (Polish Królestwo Polskie) - a state that was in a personal union with Russia.
Congress of Vienna 1815
The state was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by a two-year Sejm and a king, who was represented by a governor in Warsaw. The Kingdom had its own army, staffed mainly from "legionnaires" - veterans of the Polish legions who fought during the Napoleonic wars against Russia, Austria and Prussia. The post of viceroy was taken by Kosciuszko's comrade-in-arms, the divisional general of the French imperial army, Zayonchek, at the same time, the brother of the Russian emperor, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, became the commander-in-chief of the Polish army, after the death of Zayonchek (1826) he also became the governor.
Konstantin Pavlovich Romanov
Alexander I, who was very sympathetic to the Polish national movement, gave Poland a liberal constitution, but on the other hand, he himself began to violate it when the Poles, exercising their rights, began to resist his measures. Thus, the second Sejm in 1820 rejected a bill that abolished jury trials (introduced in Poland by Napoleon); to which Alexander declared that he, as the author of the constitution, had the right to be its sole interpreter.
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Alexander I
In 1819, preliminary censorship was introduced, which until now Poland did not know. The convocation of the Third Diet was delayed for a long time: elected in 1822, it was convened only at the beginning of 1825. After the Kalisz Voivodeship elected the oppositionist Vincent Nemoevsky, the elections there were cashed and new ones were appointed; when Kalisz again elected Nemoevsky, he was deprived of the right to elect at all, and Nemoevsky, who had come to take his seat in the Sejm, was arrested at the Warsaw outpost. The royal decree abolished the publicity of the meetings of the Seimas (except for the first). In such a situation, the third diet unquestioningly adopted all the laws submitted to it by the emperor. The subsequent appointment of the Russian governor, Konstantin Pavlovich, alarmed the Poles, who feared a tightening of the regime.
On the other hand, violations of the constitution were not the only and not even the main reason for the dissatisfaction of the Poles, especially since the Poles in other areas of the former Commonwealth, that is, Lithuania and Rus' (the so-called "eight voivodeships"), did not have any constitutional rights and guarantees ( while retaining full land and economic supremacy). Violations of the constitution were superimposed on patriotic feelings that protested against foreign power over Poland and looked forward to the revival of an independent Polish state; in addition, the so-called "Congress Poland", the brainchild of Alexander I at the Congress of Vienna, the former "Duchy of Warsaw", created by Napoleon, occupied only a small part of the historical lands of the Commonwealth, which are ethnic Poland. The Poles (plus the "Litvins": the Polish gentry of Western Rus', that is, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania), for their part, continued to perceive their homeland within the borders of 1772 (before the partitions) and dreamed in reality of driving the Russians out, hoping for help from Europe.
patriotic movement
In 1819, Major Valerian Lukasinsky, Prince Yablonovsky, Colonels Krzhizhanovsky and Prondzinsky founded the National Masonic Society, whose members were about 200 people, mostly officers; after the prohibition of Masonic lodges in 1820, it was transformed into a deeply conspiratorial Patriotic Society. At the same time, secret societies also existed outside congress Poland: patriots, friends, promenists (in Vilna), Templars (in Volhynia), and others. The movement among officers had especially wide support. The Catholic clergy also contributed to the movement; only the peasantry remained aloof from him. The movement was heterogeneous in its social goals and was divided into hostile parties: aristocratic (headed by Prince Czartoryski) and democratic, headed by Professor Lelewel, the leader and idol of university youth;
Adam Adamovich Czartoryski Joachim Lelewel
its military wing was subsequently headed by Lieutenant of the Guards Grenadiers Vysotsky, an instructor at the School of Corpsmen (military school), who created a conspiratorial military organization already within the national movement itself. However, they were separated only by plans for the future structure of Poland, but not about the uprising and not about its borders. Twice (during the Kyiv contracts) representatives of the Patriotic Society tried to enter into relations with the Decembrists, but the negotiations did not lead to anything. When the Decembrists' conspiracy was discovered and some Poles connected with them, the case of the latter was transferred to the Administrative Council (government), which, after two months of deliberations, decided to release the accused. The hopes of the Poles revived a lot after Russia declared war on Turkey (1828). Plans for a performance were discussed, in view of the fact that the main forces of Russia were involved in the Balkans; the objection was that such an action might hinder the liberation of Greece. Vysotsky, who just then created his own society, entered into relations with members of other parties and set the end of March 1829 as the time for the uprising, when, according to rumors, the coronation of Emperor Nicholas I with the crown of Poland was to take place. It was decided to kill Nikolai, and Vysotsky volunteered to personally carry out the action.
The coronation, however, took place safely (in May 1829); the plan was not carried out.
Preparation of the uprising
The July Revolution of 1830 in France brought the Polish nationalists into extreme excitement. On August 12, a meeting was held at which the question of immediate action was discussed; however, it was decided to postpone the speech, since it was necessary to win over one of the high-ranking military men. In the end, the conspirators managed to win over the generals Khlopitsky, Stanislav Potocki, Krukovetsky and Schembek to their side.
Josef Grzegorz Chłopicki Jan Stefan Krukowiecki
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Stanislav Iosifovich Pototsky
The movement embraced almost all army officers, the gentry, women, craft workshops, and students. Vysotsky's plan was adopted, according to which the signal for the uprising was to be the assassination of Konstantin Pavlovich and the capture of the barracks of Russian troops. The performance was scheduled for October 26th.
In the first days of October, proclamations were posted in the streets; an announcement appeared that the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw (the seat of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the former governor of Poland) was rented from the new year.
Belvedere Palace
But the Grand Duke was warned of the danger by his Polish wife (Princess Lovich) and did not leave the Belvedere.
The last straw for the Poles was Nicholas's manifesto on the Belgian revolution, after which the Poles saw that their army was destined to be the vanguard in the campaign against the rebellious Belgians. The uprising was finally scheduled for 29 November. The conspirators had 10,000 soldiers against about 7,000 Russians, of whom, however, many were natives of the former Polish regions.
"November Night"
With the onset of the evening of November 29, armed students gathered in the Lazenkovsky forest, and regiments were armed in the barracks. At 6 pm, Pyotr Vysotsky entered the barracks of the cadets and said: “Brothers, the hour of freedom has struck!”, He was answered with shouts: “Long live Poland!”. Vysotsky, at the head of 150 cadets, attacked the barracks of the guards lancers, while 14 conspirators moved to the Belvedere. However, at the moment when they broke into the palace, Chief of Police Lyubovitsky raised the alarm and Konstantin Pavlovich managed to escape in one dressing gown and hide. However, this failure did not influence the further course of events, since Constantine, instead of organizing an energetic rebuff to the rebels with the help of available forces, showed complete passivity.
Vysotsky's attack on the uhlan barracks also failed, but soon 2,000 students and a crowd of workers came to his aid. The rebels killed six Polish generals who remained loyal to the tsar (including Minister of War Gauka). The arsenal was taken. The Russian regiments were surrounded in their barracks and, without receiving orders from anywhere, were demoralized. Most of the Polish regiments hesitated, held back by their commanders (the commander of the Guards Horse Rangers Zhymirsky even managed to force his regiment to fight against the rebels in the Krakow suburb, and then with the regiment joined Konstantin, who left Warsaw at night). Konstantin summoned the Russian regiments to him, and by 2 o'clock in the morning Warsaw was cleared of Russian troops. After that, the uprising at once swept all of Poland.
Konstantin, explaining his passivity, said: “I don’t want to participate in this Polish fight,” meaning that what is happening is a conflict exclusively between the Poles and their king Nicholas. Subsequently, during the war, he even defiantly showed pro-Polish sympathies. Representatives of the Polish government (Administrative Council) began negotiations with him, as a result of which Konstantin undertook to release the Polish troops who were with him, not to call on the troops of the Lithuanian Corps (Russian troops of Lithuania and Rus' subordinate to him) and leave for the Vistula. The Poles, for their part, promised not to disturb him and supply him with supplies. Konstantin not only went beyond the Vistula, but completely left the Kingdom of Poland - the fortresses of Modlin and Zamostye were surrendered to the Poles, and the entire territory of the Kingdom of Poland was liberated from Russian rule.
Government organization. Deposition of Nicholas I
Nicholas I informs the guards about the uprising in Poland
The next day after the start of the uprising, on November 30, the Administrative Council met, which was at a loss: in its appeal, it defined the coup as an event "as unfortunate as it was unexpected", and tried to pretend that it was governing on behalf of Nicholas. “Nicholas, the King of Poland, is waging war with Nicholas, the Emperor of All Russia,” the Minister of Finance Lyubetsky described the situation in this way.
Nicholas I
On the same day, the Patriot Club was formed, demanding a purge of the council. As a result, a number of ministers were expelled and replaced by new ones: Vladislav Ostrovsky, General K. Malakhovskiy and Professor Lelevel. General Khlopitsky was appointed commander in chief.
Sharp disagreements immediately emerged between the right and left wing of the movement. The left tended to view the Polish movement as part of a pan-European liberation movement and were associated with the democratic circles in France that brought about the July Revolution; they dreamed of a nationwide uprising and war against all three monarchies that had divided Poland, in alliance with revolutionary France. The right tended to seek a compromise with Nicholas on the basis of the 1815 constitution. At the same time, however, they also did not doubt the need to return the "eight provinces" (Lithuania and Rus'). The coup was organized by the left, but as the elite joined it, influence passed to the side of the right. General Khlopitsky, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, was also on the right. However, he also enjoyed influence among the left, as an ally of Kosciuszko and Dombrowski.
On December 4, a Provisional Government of 7 members was formed, including Lelevel and Yulian Nemtsevich. The council was headed by Prince Adam Czartoryski - thus, power passed to the right. The most active left-wing leaders, Zalivsky and Vysotsky, Khlopitsky removed from Warsaw, the first - to organize an uprising in Lithuania, the second - as a captain in the army. He even tried to prosecute the coroners. On December 5, Khlopitsky accused the government of empty rhetoric and condoning club violence, and proclaimed himself a dictator. At the same time, he expressed his intention to “rule in the name of the constitutional king”, who just then (December 17) issued a manifesto to the Poles, stigmatizing the rebels and their “heinous betrayal”, and announced the mobilization of the army. The Sejm, which consisted mostly of leftists, took away the dictatorship from Khlopytsky, but then, under the pressure of public opinion (Khlopytsky was extremely popular, and they saw him as the savior of Poland), he returned it, after which Khlopytsky achieved the suspension of the sessions of the Seym.
session of the Seimas
Delegates (Lyubitsky and Yezersky) were sent to Petersburg to negotiate with the Russian government. Polish conditions boiled down to the following: the return of "eight provinces"; observance of the constitution; voting of taxes by chambers; observance of guarantees of freedom and publicity; publicity of Seimas sittings; protection of the kingdom exclusively by its own troops. With the exception of the first, these requirements were within the framework of the Vienna Convention of 1815, which guaranteed the constitutional rights of Poland. Nicholas, however, promised nothing more than an amnesty. When on January 25, 1831, the returned Yezersky informed the Sejm about this, the latter immediately adopted an act deposing Nicholas and banning representatives of the Romanov dynasty from occupying the Polish throne. Even earlier, under the impression of the first news of Russia's military preparations, the Sejm again took the dictatorship from Khlopitsky (who, knowing full well that Europe would not support Poland and the uprising was doomed, categorically insisted on a compromise with Nicholas). The Sejm was ready to leave him command, but Khlopitsky refused him, saying that he intended to serve only as a simple soldier. On January 20, the command was entrusted to Prince Radziwill, who was completely devoid of military experience.
Mikhail Gedeon Radziwill
From that moment on, the outcome of the Polish uprising was to be decided by the single combat of Russian and Polish weapons.
Start of hostilities. Grokhov
By November 1830, the Polish army consisted of 23,800 infantry, 6,800 cavalry, with 108 guns. As a result of the active measures of the government (recruitment, enrollment of volunteers, the creation of detachments of cosigners armed with scythes erected on a pole) in March 1831, the army had 57,924 infantry, 18,272 cavalry and 3,000 volunteers - a total of 79,000 people with 158 guns. In September, by the end of the uprising, the army numbered 80,821 people.
guard Jan Zygmund Skrzynecki
This was almost equal to the Russian army put up against Poland. Nevertheless, the quality of the composition of the army was much inferior to the Russian one: they were mostly newly drafted and inexperienced soldiers, in the mass of which veterans were dissolved. The Polish army was especially inferior to the Russian in cavalry and artillery.
Emilia Plater (commander of the cosigner detachment)
For the Russian government, the Polish uprising was a surprise: the Russian army was located partly in the western, partly in the interior provinces and had a peaceful organization. The number of all troops that were supposed to be used against the Poles reached 183 thousand (not counting 13 Cossack regiments), but it took 3-4 months to concentrate them. Count Dibich-Zabalkansky was appointed commander-in-chief, and Count Tol was appointed head of the field headquarters.
Ivan Ivanovich Dibich-Zabalkansky
By the beginning of 1831, the Poles had about 55,000 completely ready; on the Russian side, only Baron Rosen, commander of the 6th (Lithuanian) Corps, could concentrate about 45 thousand in Brest-Litovsk and Bialystok. For political reasons, Khlopitsky did not take advantage of the favorable moment for offensive actions, but deployed his main forces of troops in echelons along the roads from Kovna and Brest-Litovsk to Warsaw. Separate detachments of Seravsky and Dvernitsky stood between the rivers Vistula and Pilica; Kozakovsky's detachment observed the Upper Vistula; Dzekonsky formed new regiments in Radom; in Warsaw itself, up to 4,000 national guards were under arms. Khlopitsky's place at the head of the army was taken by Prince Radziwill.
By February 1831, the strength of the Russian army had grown to 125,500. Hoping to end the war immediately, inflicting a decisive blow on the enemy, Dibich did not pay due attention to providing the troops with food, especially to the reliable arrangement of the transportation unit, and this soon resulted in major difficulties for the Russians.
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On February 5-6 (January 24-25, old style), the main forces of the Russian army (I, VI infantry and III reserve cavalry corps) entered the Kingdom of Poland in several columns, heading for the space between the Bug and the Narew. The 5th reserve cavalry corps of Kreutz was supposed to occupy the Lublin Voivodeship, cross the Vistula, stop the weapons that had begun there and divert the attention of the enemy. The movement of some Russian columns to Augustow and Lomzha forced the Poles to push two divisions to Pultusk and Serock, which was in full accordance with Dibich's plans - to cut the enemy army and break it in parts. The sudden onslaught of mud changed the situation. The movement of the Russian army (which reached the Chizhev-Zambrov-Lomzha line on February 8) in the accepted direction was recognized as impossible, since it would have to be drawn into the wooded and swampy strip between the Bug and the Narew. As a result, Dibich crossed the Bug at Nur (February 11) and moved to the Brest highway, against the right wing of the Poles. Since, with this change, the extreme right column, Prince Shakhovsky, moving towards Lomzha from Avgustov, was too far away from the main forces, she was given complete freedom of action. On February 14, the Battle of Stochek took place, where General Geismar with a brigade of horsemen was defeated by a detachment of Dvernitsky.
Józef Dvernicki
battle of Stochek
This first battle of the war, which turned out to be successful for the Poles, greatly lifted their spirits. The Polish army took up a position at Grochow, covering the approaches to Warsaw. On February 19, the first battle began - the battle of Grochow.
Battle of Grochow 13 February. Grochow's position was on a vast low-lying plain intersected by swamps and drainage ditches. From M. Grokhov past Kavenchin and Zombka to Byalolenka stretches a swampy strip 1-2 versts wide.
To the south of B. Grokhov, the division of Shembek was located, notches were arranged in the grove. Zhimirsky's division occupied Alder Grove, north of M. Grokhov (about 1 verst along the front and 3/4 verst in depth, cut through by a sazhen ditch). The swampy ground froze and allowed movement. Roland's brigade scattered a dense line of skirmishers along the edge of the forest with strong reserves behind. The main mass of the brigade stood behind the moat in an expanded formation with intervals between units so that the overturned front troops could go back and settle under the cover of battle fire and the bayonets of the deployed units. Chizhevsky's other brigade stood behind, in reserve. Nearby behind the grove, epolements for batteries were dug up, penetrating the entire grove. 2 batteries fired at the territory to the left from the grove to Kavenchin. Behind the Zhymirsky division was Skrzynetsky, who was also intended to defend the grove.
Lubensky's cavalry stood between the highway and the village of Targuvek. Cavalry Corps Uminsky (2 divisions with 2 horse batteries) - at the count. Elsner. Krukovetsky acted against Shakhovsky at Brudno; near Prague - militias with braids (cosigners) and parks. There was no general reserve, because cosigners cannot be considered for it.
Advantages of the position: the Russian troops did not have enough space for deployment and had to perform it when leaving the forest under artillery and even rifle fire. Disadvantages: the left flank hung in the air, which gave Dibich the basis for his bypass of this flank by Shakhovsky's corps, but failed - in the rear there is a large river with one bridge, so the retreat is dangerous.
The forces of the Poles - 56 thousand; of them 12 thousand cavalrymen; without Krukovetsky - 44 thousand; Russians - 73 thousand, of which 17 thousand cavalrymen; without Shakhovsky - 60 thousand.
At 9 1/2 hours, the Russians began a cannonade, and then their right flank began to move to the right to attack the Alder Grove. The attacks were carried out incorrectly: the troops were brought into battle in parts, there was no artillery preparation and by means of encirclement. First, 5 battalions broke into the forest, but ran into reserves behind the ditch and were driven out of the grove by Roland's battalions. Reinforced with 6 battalions. Again the Russians broke in, but Chizhevsky, together with Roland (12 battalions), again forced them to retreat. The Russians bring in 7 more battalions. A long line (18 battalions) of Russians swiftly rushes at the Poles and knocks out the entire division from the grove at about 11 o'clock in the morning. Zhimirsky himself was mortally wounded. But, not supported by sufficient artillery, the Russians suffered greatly from the Polish buckshot. Khlopitsky introduces Skrizhenetsky's division into action. 23 Polish battalions take possession of the grove.
At 12 o'clock in the afternoon, Dibich strengthens the attack with another 10 battalions, begins to surround the grove on the right and left, where new batteries are put up on the flanks. Having successfully forced out from the edge, the Russians on the right could only reach a large ditch; but on the left, the fresh regiments of the 3rd division circled the grove and went far ahead, but came under the closest fire from the batteries.
Khlopitsky, wanting to take advantage of this moment, introduces both divisions (Zhymirsky and Skrzhinetsky) and 4 fresh battalions of guards grenadiers, whom he personally leads into the attack. Seeing in their midst their beloved leader, calm, with a pipe in his teeth, the Poles, singing "Polish has not yet perished," with irresistible force, attack the Russian tired, upset regiments. The latter are starting to retreat. The Poles gradually capture the entire grove, their columns approach the very edge of the forest, the skirmishers run forward.
Prondzinsky, pointing to the Russian battery, shouts: "Children, another 100 steps - and these guns are yours." Two of them were taken and directed to the height where Dibich stood.
This was the last desperate effort of the Poles. The field marshal directs everything possible from the infantry (2nd Grenadier Division) to the grove; reinforces artillery: more than 90 guns acted on the sides of the grove and, moving forward from the right side (from the north), heavily hit the Polish batteries behind the grove; to bypass the grove on the right, the 3rd cuirassier division was moved with the Life Guards Lancers of His Highness and 32 guns to help seize the groves, and at the same time break the front of the retreating Poles and try to push back to the swamps near the Brest highway at least their right flank. Even further to the right, the Lithuanian Grenadier Brigade of Muravyov with the Lancers division occupied the colonies of Metsenas and Elsner, advancing forward, contacting the cuirassiers on the left flank.
Excited, Dibich gave the spurs to his horse and, jumping up to the retreating troops, shouted loudly: “Where are you guys, because the enemy is there! Forward! Forward!" - and, standing in front of the regiments of the 3rd division, he led them to the attack. A huge avalanche hit the grove from all sides. The grenadiers, not responding to the fire of the Poles and bowing their bayonets, burst into the grove; they were followed by the 3rd division, then the 6th corps of Rosen. In vain Khlopitsky, already wounded in the leg, personally bypasses the front line and tries to inspire the Poles. On piles of bodies, the Russians cross the ditch and finally take possession of the grove.
Khlopitsky orders Krukovetsky to go to the grove, and Lubensky with the cavalry to support the upcoming attack. Lubensky replied that the terrain was inconvenient for cavalry operations, that Khlopitsky was an infantry general and did not understand cavalry business, and that he would execute the order only after receiving it from the official commander-in-chief Radziwill. It was at this critical moment that Khlopitsky's position was incorrect. He went to Radziwill. On the way, the grenade hit Khlopitsky's horse, exploded inside and injured his legs. His activity has ceased. The whole cause of the Poles fell into disarray, the general administration disappeared. Radziwill was completely at a loss, whispered prayers and answered questions with texts from the Holy Scriptures. Cowardly Shembek wept. Uminsky quarreled with Krukovetsky. Only Skrzynetsky kept his presence of mind and showed diligence.
Dibich entrusted the leadership of the actions of the cavalry mass to Tolya, who became carried away by particulars and scattered his cavalry across the field, only one cuirassier regiment of Prince Albert, led by a division of Lieutenant Colonel von Zon, rushed to pursue the randomly retreating Poles. The regiment went through the entire battle formation of the enemy, and only at Prague itself did 5 Polish lancer squadrons take the Zone on the flank. But he deftly led his cuirassiers onto the highway and escaped from infantry and missile battery fire. The attack lasted 20 minutes over 2 1/2 versts. Although the losses of the cuirassiers reached half of the composition (Zon was mortally wounded and captured), however, the moral effect of the attack is enormous. Radzwill with his retinue rode off to Warsaw.
The Olviopol hussars famously attacked Shembek, pinned two regiments to the Vistula and scattered them. The Poles were pushed back everywhere. Skrzyniecki gathered and arranged the remnants behind in position on the sandy hills.
At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Shakhovsky finally appeared, who showed complete inactivity that day. The delighted Dibich made no reproach, only announced that the honor of completing the victory belonged to them, and he himself became the head of the grenadiers. But when they approached the enemy position, it was 5 o'clock, the day was drawing to a close. The field marshal thought about it and after some hesitation ordered to stop the battle.
The loss of the Poles - 12 thousand, Russian 9400 people.
Meanwhile, a terrible disorder prevailed among the Poles. Troops and convoys crowded near the bridge, only by midnight did the crossing end, under the cover of Skrzynetsky
Under such conditions, it would not be difficult for the Russians to cope with Skrzynetsky, and then storm the Prague tete-de-pon. It is completely incomprehensible why Dibich did not do this. His plan was to put an end to the uprising with one blow and, moreover, as soon as possible. The opportunity just presented itself, and the field marshal did not take advantage of it. The dark question of causes is still not clarified by history
The first Russian attacks were repulsed by the Poles, but on February 25, the Poles, who had lost their commander by that time (Khlopitsky was wounded), left their position and retreated to Warsaw. The Poles suffered serious losses, but they themselves inflicted those on the Russians (they lost 10,000 people against 8,000 Russians, according to other sources, 12,000 against 9,400).
Polish uprising of 1830-1831. they call the rebellion organized by the nobility and the Catholic clergy in the Kingdom of Poland and the neighboring provinces of the Russian Empire.
The rebellion was aimed at separating the Kingdom of Poland from Russia and tearing away from Russia its original western lands, which were part of the 16th-18th centuries. part of the former Commonwealth. The constitution granted by Emperor Alexander I to the Kingdom (Kingdom) of Poland in 1815 granted Poland broad sovereign rights. The Kingdom of Poland was a sovereign state that was part of the Russian Empire and associated with it by a personal union. The All-Russian Emperor was at the same time the Tsar (King) of Poland. The Kingdom of Poland had its own bicameral parliament - the Sejm, as well as its own army. The Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland was solemnly opened in 1818 by Emperor Alexander I, who hoped to receive in his person proof of the possibility of the peaceful development of the Polish nation within the framework of the Empire as a link connecting Russia with Western Europe. But in subsequent years, the implacable anti-government opposition intensified in the Seimas.
In the 1820s in the Kingdom of Poland, in Lithuania and on the Right-Bank Ukraine, secret conspiratorial, Masonic societies arose, which began to prepare an armed rebellion. Guards Lieutenant P. Vysotsky in 1828 founded a union of officers and students of military schools and entered into an agreement with other secret societies. The uprising was scheduled for the end of March 1829 and timed to coincide with the proposed coronation of Nicholas I as the king of Poland. But the coronation took place safely in May 1829.
The July Revolution of 1830 in France gave rise to new hopes for the Polish "patriots". The immediate cause for the uprising was the news of the imminent dispatch of Russian and Polish troops to suppress the Belgian revolution. The viceroy in the Kingdom of Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, was warned by the Polish ensign about the conspiracy existing in Warsaw, but did not attach any importance to this.
On November 17, 1830, a crowd of conspirators led by L. Nabelyak and S. Goszczyński broke into the Belvedere Palace, the Warsaw governor's residence, and carried out a pogrom there, injuring several people from among the Grand Duke's close associates and servants. Konstantin Pavlovich managed to escape. On the same day, an uprising began in Warsaw, led by the secret gentry officer society of P. Vysotsky. The rebels seized the arsenal. Many Russian generals and officers who were in Warsaw were killed.
In the context of the outbreak of the rebellion, the behavior of the governor looked extremely strange. Konstantin Pavlovich considered the uprising a mere outburst of anger and did not allow the troops to come out to suppress it, saying that "the Russians have nothing to do in a fight." Then he sent home that part of the Polish troops, which at the beginning of the uprising still remained loyal to the authorities.
November 18, 1830 Warsaw passed into the hands of the rebels. With a small Russian detachment, the governor left Warsaw and left Poland. The powerful military fortresses of Modlin and Zamostye were surrendered to the rebels without a fight. A few days after the flight of the governor, the Kingdom of Poland was left by all Russian troops.
The Administrative Council of the Kingdom of Poland was transformed into the Provisional Government. The Sejm elected General Yu. Khlopitsky as commander-in-chief of the Polish troops and proclaimed him a "dictator", but the general refused dictatorial powers and, not believing in the success of the war with Russia, sent a delegation to Emperor Nicholas I. The Russian tsar refused to negotiate with the rebellious government and on January 5 1831 Khlopitsky resigned.
Prince Radziwill became the new Polish commander-in-chief. On January 13, 1831, the Sejm announced the deposition of Nicholas I - depriving him of the Polish crown. The National Government headed by Prince A. Czartoryski came to power. At the same time, the "revolutionary" Seimas refused to consider even the most moderate projects of agrarian reform and improving the situation of the peasants.
The national government was preparing to fight with Russia. The Polish army grew from 35 to 130 thousand people, although only 60 thousand of them could participate in hostilities with combat experience. But the Russian troops stationed in the western provinces were not ready for war. Here, the vast majority of military garrisons were the so-called. "disabled teams". The number of Russian troops here reached 183 thousand people, but it took 3-4 months for their concentration. Field Marshal Count I.I. was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops. Dibich-Zabalkansky, and the chief of staff, General Count K.F. Tol.
Dibich hurried the troops. Without waiting for the concentration of all forces, without providing the army with food and not having time to equip the rear, on January 24-25, 1831, the commander-in-chief, together with the main forces, began an invasion of the Kingdom of Poland between the Bug and Narew rivers. A separate left column of General Kreutz was to occupy the Lublin Voivodeship in the south of the Kingdom and divert enemy forces. The spring thaw that began soon buried the original plan of the military campaign. On February 2, 1831, in the battle at Stochek, the Russian brigade of horse rangers under the command of General Geismar was defeated by the Polish detachment of Dvernitsky. The battle between the main forces of the Russian and Polish troops took place on February 13, 1831 near Grokhov and ended with the defeat of the Polish army. But Dibich did not dare to continue the offensive, expecting a serious rebuff.
Soon Radziwill was replaced as commander-in-chief by General J. Skshinetsky, who managed to raise the morale of his troops after the defeat at Grokhov. The Russian detachment of Baron Kreutz crossed the Vistula, but was stopped by the Polish detachment of Dvernitsky and retreated to Lublin, which was hastily abandoned by the Russian troops. The Polish command took advantage of the inaction of the main forces of the Russian troops and, trying to gain time, began peace negotiations with Dibich. Meanwhile, on February 19, 1831, Dvernitsky's detachment crossed the Vistula at Puławy, overthrew small Russian detachments and tried to invade Volhynia. The reinforcements that arrived there under the command of General Tol forced Dvernitsky to take refuge in Zamosc. A few days later, the Vistula cleared of ice and Dibich began to prepare a crossing to the left bank near Tyrchin. But the Polish detachments attacked the rear of the main forces of the Russian troops and thwarted their offensive.
In the areas adjacent to the Kingdom of Poland - Volhynia and Podolia, unrest broke out, an open rebellion broke out in Lithuania. Lithuania was guarded only by a weak Russian division (3200 people), stationed in Vilna. Dibić sent military reinforcements to Lithuania. In March, the Polish detachment of Dvernitsky set out from Zamosc and invaded Volhynia, but was stopped by the Russian detachment of F.A. Rediger and thrown back to the Austrian border, and then went to Austria, where he was disarmed. The Polish detachment of Hrshanovsky, who moved to help Dvernitsky, was met by a detachment of Baron Kreutz at Lyubartov and retreated to Zamosc.
However, successful attacks by small Polish units exhausted the main forces of Dibich. The actions of the Russian troops, moreover, were complicated by the cholera epidemic that broke out in April, there were about 5 thousand patients in the army.
In early May, the 45,000-strong Polish army of Skshinetsky launched an offensive against the 27,000-strong Russian guards corps, commanded by Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, and threw it back to Bialystok - outside the Kingdom of Poland. Dibich did not immediately believe in the success of the Polish offensive against the guards, and only 10 days after it began, he threw the main forces against the rebels. On May 14, 1831, a new major battle took place at Ostroleka. The Polish army was defeated. The military council, assembled by Skshinetsky, decided to retreat to Warsaw. But a large detachment of the Polish general Gelgud (12 thousand people) was sent to the rear of the Russian army, to Lithuania. There he united with Khlapovsky's detachment and local bands of rebels, his numbers doubled. Russian and Polish forces in Lithuania were approximately equal.
On May 29, 1831, Dibich fell ill with cholera and died the same day. Command was temporarily taken over by General Tol. June 7, 1831 Gelgud attacked the Russian positions near Vilna, but was defeated and fled to the Prussian borders. Of the troops under his command, only the detachment of Dembinsky (3800 people) was able to break through from Lithuania to Warsaw. A few days later, the Russian troops of General Roth defeated the Polish gang of Pegs near Dashev and at the village. Maidanek, which led to the suppression of the rebellion in Volhynia. New attempts by Skshinetsky to move behind the lines of the Russian army failed.
On June 13, 1831, the new commander-in-chief of the Russian troops, Field Marshal Count I.F., arrived in Poland. Paskevich-Erivansky. Near Warsaw was the 50,000th Russian army, it was opposed by 40,000 rebels. The Polish authorities declared a total militia, but the common people refused to shed blood for the power of the greedy gentry and fanatic priests.
Paskevich chose Osek near Torun, near the Prussian border, as the place of crossing to the left bank of the Vistula. From July 1, 1831, the Russians built bridges near Osek, along which the army safely crossed to the enemy coast. Skshinetsky did not dare to interfere with the crossing, but the dissatisfaction of the Warsaw society forced him to move towards the main Russian forces. Under their onslaught, the Polish troops rolled back to the capital. At the end of July, Skshinetsky was removed and Dembinsky became the new commander-in-chief of the Polish army, who wanted to give the Russians a decisive battle right at the walls of Warsaw.
On August 3, 1831, unrest broke out in Warsaw. The Seimas dissolved the old government, appointed General J. Krukovetsky as head of government (president) and endowed him with emergency rights. On August 6, Russian troops began to besiege Warsaw, and commander-in-chief Dembinsky was replaced by Malakhovych. Malakhovych again tried to attack the Russian rear in the north and east of the Kingdom of Poland. The Polish detachment of Romarino attacked the Russian troops of Baron Rosen, stationed on the Brest highway - east of Warsaw, and on August 19, 1831 pushed them back to Brest-Litovsk, but then hastily retreated to protect the capital.
Paskevich's troops, having received all the necessary reinforcements, numbered 86 thousand people, and the Polish troops near Warsaw - 35 thousand. In response to the proposal to surrender Warsaw, Krukovetsky stated that the Poles had raised an uprising in order to restore their fatherland within its ancient borders, i.e. . to Smolensk and Kyiv. On August 25, 1831, Russian troops stormed Wola, a suburb of Warsaw. On the night of August 26-27, 1831, Krukowiecki and the Polish troops in Warsaw capitulated.
The Polish army, leaving the capital, was supposed to arrive in the Plock Voivodeship in the north of the Kingdom in order to wait for the subsequent orders of the Russian emperor. But the members of the Polish government, who left Warsaw with their troops, refused to comply with Krukowiecki's decision to surrender. In September and October 1831, the remnants of the Polish army, which continued to resist, were expelled by Russian troops from the Kingdom to Prussia and Austria, where they were disarmed. The last to surrender to the Russians were the fortresses of Modlin (September 20, 1831) and Zamostye (October 9, 1831). The uprising was pacified, and the sovereign statehood of the Kingdom of Poland was liquidated. Count I.F. was appointed viceroy. Paskevich-Erivansky, who received the new title of Prince of Warsaw.One defining event in their stories is usually found by young and not very young people. big countries, and this is usually gaining independence. But Poland is a country with a very rich history, and in relation to it, it is rather correct to speak not about an event, but about a key motive that determines how Poles think about history. And for the Polish cultural memory such key issue is the relation to the insurrectionary tradition.
At the end of the 18th century, the territory of the Commonwealth was divided by three neighboring empires - Prussia, Austria and Russia. At first, the Polish gentry, although they were very upset by this, first of all tried to somehow adapt to the new situation. AT early XIX century, she began to pin hopes for the revival of Poland with Napoleon, but he suffered a defeat, and the gentry again had to adapt to the prevailing conditions. I must say that these conditions were not so tragic. So, on the territory of Russia there was the Kingdom of Poland, or, as the Poles like to say, the Kingdom of Poland, it was practically a separate state with its own constitution, its own budget, its own army, connected with the Russian Empire by a kind of personal union.
But in November 1830, an uprising broke out in Warsaw. It was raised by young people who studied at a school for cadets (this is something like a cadet school), and the Polish elites did not immediately support them: at first they doubted whether it was worth doing. The uprising was suppressed and led to very serious consequences: the Kingdom of Poland was deprived of autonomy, a lot of people, up to 200 thousand people, went into exile, many ended up in Siberia, many died. Indemnities were imposed on Poland, a fortress was built over Warsaw, the guns of which looked at the city, and so on. In fact, the Russian army occupied Poland: Nicholas I said that now, after the uprising, he had the right to behave there as in a conquered country.
The capture of the Warsaw arsenal during the November Uprising of 1830. Panorama of Marcin Zaleski. 1831 In the 1840s, several attempted uprisings were carried out in the Polish territories, which went to Austria and Prussia, and in Krakow, which by this time had the status of a free city, which was under the care of all three states - and as a result, having lost this status, he became part of the Austrian province of Galicia.
In the early 1860s, reforms began to unfold in Russia and it was canceled serfdom. Petersburg was very concerned about preventing a new Polish uprising, and tried to negotiate with the Poles. To do this, some elements of Polish autonomy were re-established: they were allowed to open a university, change Russian officials for Polish ones, and so on. But in 1863, an uprising nevertheless took place in the kingdom of Poland. It developed differently than the uprising of 1830: Poland no longer had auto-no-mii - and, accordingly, now not two armies fought there, but the Russian army and partisans. The uprising was again brutally suppressed.
Thus, in the 1860s, the insurrectionary era ended and the question of whether it was necessary to rebel at all became a key one for Polish society.
As a reaction, two schools of thought arose about the history and, accordingly, about the future of Poland. Firstly, the so-called Warsaw positivism is the school to which the writers Bolesław Prus, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Eliza Orzeszko and others belonged. From their point of view, the uprisings brought the Polish nation to the brink of survival: a huge number of Polish youth were exiled to Siberia, went to the Caucasus to fight in the ranks of the Russian army, emigrated or died on the battlefields. They believed that this should be decisively tied up, and the focus should be on what they called "organic work": that is, work, study, develop entrepreneurship and the economy, science and education, thus increasing - the "organic strength" of Polish society, and then freedom will come by itself, without desperate and reckless impulses.
This idea became popular not only in Russian Poland, but also in other parts of it. Firstly, uprisings also took place there, which did not help to achieve anything, and secondly, there the Poles were under very severe pressure from the emerging German capitalism and the rise - the Poles were afraid that they would simply be crushed now.
Stanchik. Painting by Jan Matejko. 1862 Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie / Wikimedia Commons The second version of the reaction to the uprising of 1863 arose in Galicia and was called the "Krakow historical school".
Galicia is the most economically backward region of Poland, but it is all saturated with history, with a very strong gentry tradition. And the insurrectionary idea was very closely connected with this tradition. At the same time, one of the differences between the Polish gentry and the Russian nobility was its large number: if the Russian nobles made up 1-2% of the population, then the Polish gentry - about 10%, and in some regions, including Galicia, up to 15%. And in the 1860s, a party appeared there, whose members began to call themselves stanchiks. Stanchik is the name of a jester who at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century lived at the court of the Polish king and all the time said unpleasant things to the king and the Polish gentry - mocked their ambition, vanity and recklessness. The Stanchiks, as if continuing such a critical tradition, question the insurrectionary idea, considering it reckless and embodying all the negative features of the Polish gentry. At the same time, unlike the Warsaw positivists, who adhered to liberal views, the stanchiks were conservatives: for them, capitalism was something alien, they perceived it as an incomprehensible rotten force that deprives a person of subjectivity. From their midst came two of the greatest Polish historians of the 19th century, Jozef Shuisky and Michal Bobrzyński, who described the history of Poland as a history of lack of sobriety, calculation, restraint, systematic effort, a history of gentry selfishness and arrogance.
The tradition of glorifying the insurgent movement also existed, but rather on an individual level. You can see this, for example, at the famous Polish Lychakiv cemetery, which is located in Lviv: there is a drain there, filled with identical small iron crosses that stand in rows, like lines of soldiers. Under these crosses are buried people who participated in the uprising of 1830-1831. If we look at the dates written on these crosses, we can see that many of these people died much later, say in the 1880s. That is, 50 years have passed since the uprising, and a person is buried as a rebel - his identity is associated exclusively with this event. And in fact, in every next generation of Poles, a certain number of people were born who identified themselves with this insurrectionary tradition.
Arthur Grotger. On the battlefield. From the cycle "Polonia". 1866
Arthur Grotger. Forging braid. From the cycle "Polonia". 1863Szépművészeti Muzeum / Wikimedia Commons
Arthur Grotger. Defense of the estate. From the cycle "Polonia". 1863Szépművészeti Muzeum / Wikimedia Commons
Arthur Grotger. Shelter. From the cycle "Polonia". 1863Szépművészeti Muzeum / Wikimedia Commons
Arthur Grotger. Mourning news. From the cycle "Polonia". 1863Szépművészeti Muzeum / Wikimedia Commons
Immediately after the uprising of 1863, the Polish artist Artur Grotger created vivid tragic images of the rebels. He himself did not participate in the uprising and lived at that time in Vienna, but after that he helped the rebels fleeing from the authorities, and he painted scenes of the uprising on engravings - that is, works intended for replication.
On the territory of the Russian Empire, the manifestations of this tradition were practically impossible, primarily due to stricter censorship than in Austria, therefore, artists and writers did not directly speak about the uprisings. But plots reminiscent of the heroic past of the Commonwealth and the former triumph of Polish weapons arose very often. For example, in the painting by the artist Jan Matejko, Russian boyars during Livonian War they bow to the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory, who besieged Pskov. Of course, in 1872, when this picture was painted, it was very pleasant to see it: it reminded that the Poles were once stronger and should become stronger in the future.
Stefan Batory near Pskov. Painting by Jan Matejko. 1872 Zamek Królewski / Wikimedia Commons After the end of the First World War, Poland was restored and gained independence. After that, the idea that it was the struggle - that is, the rebel tradition - that led to the restoration of an independent Poland, became an important motive for the historical education of young people. At the same time, no one asked the question why the Czechs, who never rebelled, gained independence in the same 1918 In 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed; many independent states were restored or created. Including on October 28, the creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed, and on November 6, the restoration of Poland was announced..
During World War II, Poland had one of the most developed resistance movements: the Polish Home Army was actively fighting the German occupying army all the time. In 1944, when Soviet troops were already approaching Warsaw, the leaders of this army decided to raise an anti-German uprising in the city. It was as reckless or even more reckless than the 19th century uprisings: the Poles were very poorly armed and counted only on the fact that the Red Army would continue the offensive, the Germans would continue to retreat, and the rebels would meet the Red Army as the masters of Warsaw. But the Red Army stopped on the banks of the Vistula, and the Germans began to systematically destroy the rebels and Warsaw. As a result, the city, which by the summer of 1944 remained more or less intact, two months later, by the end of the uprising, was destroyed by more than 90%, 200 thousand civilians died.
Polish historians are denouncing the “fourth partition of Poland” with might and main, but can any of them give another example of such a calm existence of Poland in 15 years, as in 1815-1830? Without rokosh, confederations, invasions of foreign troops, "cabal" magnates with the use of artillery, etc. not a single decade has passed since 1700. The rhetorical question is whether people lived in 1815-1830. ethnic Poles in Prussia and Austria better than in the Kingdom of Poland? But the restless gentlemen did not think about such stupid questions, but continued to chat about the great motherland "from mozha to mozha." There were also secret societies. The most famous were the Philomath and Philaret Society at Vilna University (1817), one of which included the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855). In 1821, a Patriotic Society arose among the officers, whose task was to fight for the restoration of an independent Poland on the basis of the Constitution of May 3, 1791.
". What can you do, in Europe the fashion was like this: in Italy - the Carbonari, in Russia - the Decembrists, in France - the Bonapartists, etc. 1830 was marked by revolutionary uprisings throughout Europe. On July 27, Paris revolted. Two days of barricade fighting, and the tricolor flag of the revolution of 1789 was raised over the royal palace. On August 2, King Charles X abdicated and fled to England. A revolution began in Belgium, unrest rose in German states, activated the Carbonari in Italy. The Polish conspirators decided that their hour had come. The overwhelming majority of the lords and some of the burghers were revolutionary. But no one had definite plans. Some demanded the tsar's strict observance of the Constitution of 1815, others - the independence of Poland in full. Then the question arose about the borders of the new Poland, and complete confusion began. Simplifying the situation somewhat, one can compare the conspirators with Vasily Alibabaevich from the movie “Gentlemen of Fortune”: “Why did you run? Everyone ran and I ran.
Uprising in Poland in 1830
The reason for the uprising was the order of Nicholas I on the preparation of the collection of funds and the deployment of Russian troops, scheduled to pass through Poland in order to suppress the revolution in Belgium. On the night of 17 to 18 (from 29 to 30) November 1830, part of the Polish troops mutinied. The rebels captured the arsenal and the Belvedere Palace, where the governor lived. Konstantin Pavlovich slept peacefully after dinner. Apparently he was drunk. True, the attackers were also tipsy. They stabbed General Gendre with bayonets, mistaking him for the Grand Duke. Princess Lovich woke her husband up and hid him in the palace attic, and later they managed to take Konstantin disguised out of Warsaw. I note that several dozen Polish generals and senior officers refused to participate in the rebellion and were killed by the conspirators. After the suppression of the uprising, on the orders of Nicholas I in Warsaw, a large obelisk with eight lions sitting at its foot will be erected to the slain Polish military leaders on Saxony Square in Warsaw. The Russian garrison of Warsaw consisted of two guards infantry regiments, three guards cavalry regiments and two guards artillery battalions, totaling about 7,000 men. They would be enough to suppress the uprising at the initial stage, this, by the way, was asked by the governor of the princes Lyubetsky and Czartorysky. However, Konstantin categorically refused to bring Russian troops into the business: “The Poles have begun, they should also cope with the whole thing!” As a result, the Russian garrison did not offer proper resistance to the Poles and left Warsaw on the afternoon of November 18. On December 2, Konstantin declared: "Every spilled drop of blood will only spoil the matter" and released the Polish units loyal to him, who were in Warsaw, to join the rebels. The fortresses of Modlin and Zamostye were handed over to the Poles, and the Grand Duke with Russian troops fled to Russian borders. A provisional government was formed in Warsaw headed by General Y. Khlopitsky. However, in January 1831, Khlopitsky resigned, and instead of him was the sixty-year-old Adam-Jerzy Czartoryski, the same one who was a friend of Alexander I and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia from 1803 to 1807. Incidentally, Czartoryski was not enough of the post of head of the national government and the President of the Senate, he clearly aimed at kings. After the defeat of the uprising, Adam Czartoryski emigrated to Paris, where until his death in 1861 he was considered the first candidate for the Polish throne. On January 21, 1831 (NS), the Seim officially deposed Nicholas I from the Polish throne. The Seimas proclaimed the slogan “For your and our freedom! » as the motto of solidarity between the Polish and Russian revolutionary movement. But later the Seim "stepped on a rake" - rejected the proposal to abolish serfdom, which deprived itself of the support of the peasantry. By the beginning of hostilities, the Polish army numbered up to 130 thousand people. The artillery of the Poles consisted of 106 field guns. Their number was increased by old Prussian howitzers and museum exhibits, including captured 18th-century Turkish mortars that the tsar had sent earlier for the monument to King Vladislav. The Polish generals Prondzinsky and Kryzhanovsky proposed offensive tactics. They wanted to gather the entire Polish army into a single fist and consistently beat the Russians in parts, preventing them from uniting. In Warsaw, however, only a small garrison of 4-5 thousand people was to remain. In addition, they hoped, when the Polish troops entered Lithuania and Belarus, that the local gentry would revolt and join the Polish troops. However, General Khlopytsky rejected this plan and on December 20, 1830 (n.s.) ordered the entire Polish army to be deployed in two columns along the Brest-Warsaw and Bialystok-Warsaw roads so that there were several echelons in depth along each road, which could , retreating in front of the Russian units, concentrate at one assembly point - Grokhov (5 km southeast of Warsaw), where it was supposed to fight. Having learned about the uprising in Warsaw, Nicholas I gathered guards units in the courtyard of the Engineer's Castle and informed them that there was an uprising in Warsaw. In response to the indignant exclamations of young officers, Nikolai said: “I ask you, gentlemen, not to hate the Poles. They are our brothers. Few malevolent people are guilty of rebellion. I hope that with God's help everything will end for the better. On December 12 (24), the tsar issued a manifesto stating that the Russians should show “justice without vengeance, steadfastness in the struggle for the honor and benefit of the state without hatred of blinded opponents” towards the Poles. Nevertheless, both in the ruling court circles and in Russian society (of course, the nobility) there were very strong fears of foreign intervention, that is, the intervention of France and England in the Polish question. In February 1831, a Polish committee was formed in Paris with the participation of General Lafayette. But for the last 40 years this glorious general has been engaged exclusively in chatter, and the matter did not come to intervention. It is worth noting that the Russian liberal nobility, which systematically criticized internal politics Russian government, took a sharp anti-Polish position. So, the Decembrist Alexander Bestuzhev, demoted to the soldiers, wrote on January 5, 1831 from Derbent to his mother: “On the third day I received the Tiflis newspapers and was extremely upset and annoyed by the news of the Warsaw treason. What a pity that I won’t have to exchange bullets with the good lords ... I’ll only note that the Poles will never be sincere friends of the Russians ... No matter how you feed the wolf ... ”A.S. Pushkin wrote several poems about the Polish uprising, of which the most famous are “Slanderers of Russia” and “Borodino Anniversary”. I note that both poems are addressed not to the Poles, but to those who incited them, sitting in cozy offices in London and Paris. Why are you threatening Russia with an anathema? What angered you? unrest in Lithuania? Leave it: this is a dispute among the Slavs A homely, old dispute, already weighed by fate, A question that you will not resolve. So send us, vitias, Your embittered sons: There is a place for them in the fields of Russia, Among the coffins that are not alien to them. "Slanderers of Russia" Come to us: Rus' is calling you! But know, invited guests! Already Poland will not lead you: Bones will step through it! ... "Borodino anniversary"69 The forces that Nicholas I had to pacify Poland included up to 183 thousand people (guards from St. Petersburg, the Grenadier Corps from the Novgorod settlements, I and II corps from the 1st Army, VI Corps - former Lithuanian, III and V reserve cavalry corps). However, it took more than four months to collect all these troops. The Corps of the Guards of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and II Count Palen II could arrive only in the spring.
An attempt to suppress the Russian uprising in Warsaw
By December 1830, in place - near Brest and Bialystok - there was only one VI Corps of Baron Rosen in the amount of about 45 thousand sabers and bayonets. On the march were the Grenadier Corps of Prince Shakhovsky and the I Corps of Count Palen 1st with the reserve cavalry of the southern settlements. Field Marshal Count Dibich-Zabalkansky70 was appointed commander-in-chief, and Count Tol was appointed chief of staff. Dibich was subordinated to the provinces: Grodno, Vilna, Minsk, Podolsk, Volyn and Bialystok regions, declared in martial law. By January 20, 1831, the Russian forces at the border of the Kingdom of Poland numbered 114 thousand people. Hoping to quickly defeat the rebels, Dibich did not betray of great importance to supply his troops and decided not to burden the army with carts and artillery parks. Provisions were taken for only fifteen days, and fodder for twelve. In the artillery, the third divisions of batteries were left, which thus acted as part of eight guns instead of twelve. Infantry regiments acted as part of two battalions. On January 24 and 25, Russian troops crossed the border of the Kingdom of Poland in eleven columns, but in such a way as to be able to concentrate the main forces in the amount of 80 thousand people in twenty hours. The main forces (I, VI Infantry and III Reserve Cavalry Corps) Dibich moved to the area between the rivers Bug and Narew, instructing the V Reserve Cavalry Corps of Baron Kreutz to demonstrate to Lublin. The grenadier corps, marching on the right flank of the general location with a ledge behind and at a considerable distance from the main forces, was given freedom of action. The rains and thaw, which made the wooded and swampy Bugo-Narevsky region impassable, prompted Dibich to concentrate troops at Vengrov, and then turn onto the Brest highway. The field marshal decided to strike at the right flank of the Poles, cutting them off from Warsaw. This flanking march was made on 31 January. In the first days of February, the rapidly advancing Russian columns came into contact with the Polish troops, who were retreating to the Vistula in the Warsaw region. On February 2, an unsuccessful battle for the Russians took place near Stochek, where the cavalry division of General Geismar was defeated by the Polish cavalry of General Dvernitsky. Two Russian cavalry regiments fled, unable to withstand the saber attack of the Poles. The Russians lost 280 men and 8 cannons, while the Poles lost 87 men. On February 5, the Russian army under the command of Field Marshal Dibich set out from Vengrov in two columns. In the right column, along the road to Stanislavov, General Rosen's VI Corps marched, and in the left, along the highway through Kalushin, the 1st Infantry Corps of Count Palen 1st, followed by the reserve. Pushing back the Polish divisions of Skrhynetsky and Zhymirsky, the vanguard of the Palen corps reached Yanovek on February 6, and the vanguard of the Rosen corps was in Okunev. The next day, February 7, it was decided to continue moving towards Warsaw, and the vanguard of Count Palen was to occupy the Vyhodsky Heights, and the main forces of his corps - Milosna. The vanguard of the corps of Baron Rosen also had to reach Vygoda, and his corps should be located in front of Grzhibovskaya Wola. The Polish army was assembled at Grochow under the command of Khlopitsky and consisted of three infantry and three cavalry divisions. In addition, Zhimirsky's division was in the forefront, in the Milosnensky forest. In total, the Polish army had about 54 thousand people with 140 guns.
From Yanovek to Varva, the Warsaw highway ran through a forest, which, right under Varva, remained only on the right side of the road and continued towards Kavenchin. In front of this forest, for 7 versts to Prague, a plain stretched, covered with sandy hills, bushes, swamps and individual estates. Two versts behind Varv were the villages of Maly and Bolshoi Grochov, and three versts behind them was the Warsaw suburb of Prague. In front of Grokhov there was a small alder grove. Having retreated with his division to Varva, Zhimirsky appreciated the importance of this point and settled down here in order to prevent the Russian troops from debushing from the forest. He deployed his 9 battalions along the sides of the highway, and sent the 28 guns he had to the exits from the forest. By this time, from the main forces of the Poles, the Shembek division was heading towards Zhimirsky. By the time this division arrived at Varvu, the advanced units of Palen's I Corps began to appear from the forest. Shembek placed his division to the right of Zhimirsky, and placed three regiments of Lubensky's cavalry division on the right flank. The vanguard of Count Palen (1st and 2nd Chasseurs and 3rd Cavalry Regiments with sixteen guns under the command of Lieutenant General Prince Lopukhin) was fired upon from forty guns when leaving the forest, but nevertheless lined up in order on both sides of the highway . Fresh troops were brought up, and a heated battle ensued. Commander-in-Chief Khlopitsky arrived at Varv for shots and, convinced of the need to prevent the debushing of Russian troops from the forest, ordered Shembek to push back the Russian troops that had already left it into the forest. And in order to cover his troops from bypassing them from the left flank with a column of the VI Corps, moving along the Okunevskaya road to Vygoda, and to prevent the connection of Russian columns, Khlopitsky sent the Krukovetsky division (13 battalions and 24 guns) there. The rest of the troops were left in reserve near Grokhov. The 1st and 2nd chasseur regiments, under the onslaught of superior Poles, were pushed back to the forest, but the 5th chasseur regiment, which arrived on the run with the 1st cavalry battery of Colonel Paskevich, stubbornly defended its position on the highway. The Black Sea regiment, which rushed to the attack, was overturned. Count Palen and the chief of the main staff of the army, Count Tol, arrived at the vanguard. The Velikolutsky regiment was sent by Palen to the right of the highway, where the Poles advanced strongly. He managed to hold the onslaught of the Poles until 10 o'clock in the morning. Zhimirsky, moving forward through the forest, pressed the weak Russian right flank from two sides. The Novoingermanland regiment, which arrived here to help, was unable to delay the advance of the Poles, and the Russian infantry retreated. Count Tol, fearing that the Poles would be able to cut the Russian army in half, advanced the Staroingermanlandsky regiment and the battalion of the 4th Marine Regiment to the right flank, while he placed the artillery of the 3rd Division in a ledge behind the horse battery, to the left of the highway. The 3rd Naval Regiment was moved to the left. Thanks to these measures, the initiative in battle passed to the Russians. At 11 o'clock in the morning, Field Marshal Dibich arrived on the battlefield with nine battalions of the 2nd Infantry Division. At this time, the Poles reinforced their troops located in the forest, and launched an attack on the flank of the batteries stationed on the highway, trying to cover them. The dense forest hid these movements of the Poles, but Prince Gorchakov nevertheless noticed them and turned the guns of the 1st cavalry battery to the right, with the front parallel to the highway, and then opened grapeshot fire across the highway. The Poles, struck by the suddenness of this fire, retreated into the depths of the forest, but some of their skirmishers rushed to the battery set by Tol. Dibich sent his own convoy and a half-squadron of Lubensky hussars to repel them, and the Poles were overturned.
It was already about noon, and the right Russian column had not yet debouched from the forest. The Poles, realizing the importance of the Russian right flank, directed all their efforts against it. Meanwhile, Dibich sent the Estonian Regiment to reinforce the right flank, called the 2nd Grenadier Division from the reserve, and sent an order to Rosen to speed up the movement. The avant-garde of Rosen under the command of Vlodek was supposed to move at the same height as the vanguard of the 1st Corps, but due to the long distance and bad road, he arrived at Grzhibovska Wola only at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. To delay the movement of Rosen's column, Krukovetsky, having an infantry division and a cavalry regiment, sent one semi-battery with arrows into the forest. The exits from the forest were occupied by Gelgud's brigade with a semi-battery, and the rest of the troops stood in reserve at Vygoda, to the right of the road. Vlodek, hearing strong firing to his left, pushed the 50th Jaeger Regiment and the 1st Battalion of the 49th Jaeger Regiment into the forest to the left of the road, got in touch with the Estland Regiment of the Palen Corps, drove the Poles out of the forest and began to gradually deploy their columns at the edge. Dibich, hearing shots on the right flank, which indicated that Rosen's corps had entered the battle, ordered a general offensive to be launched in the center and on the left flank. The entire line of Russian troops, leaving the forest, began to move forward. Toll overturned Zhimirsky, Palen pushed back Shembek. On our left flank, the Sumy and New Arkhangelsk men, with the assistance of infantry and artillery fire, pushed back the cavalry of Lubensky, who hurried to take cover behind his infantry. The Russian infantry moved forward along the highway and occupied Varv. On our right flank, Krukovetsky stubbornly held out. After a fierce battle, the Russians overturned the 5th Polish Infantry Regiment, which occupied the height. The Russians launched a general offensive, and the left flank of the Poles was pushed back to Grokhov. The villages of Krchma and Benefit were also abandoned by them. Krukovetsky went to the alder grove.
To capture Kavenchin, Rosen sent the Polish and Volynsky Lancers and the Zhytomyr Infantry Regiment, which overturned the Kalish Lancers defending this village. By 4 o'clock in the afternoon, all exits from the forest were in the hands of the Russians. Our troops bivouacked in the places where they found the order. The Poles withdrew behind Maly Grochov without being pursued by the Russians, stopped in front of Bolshoy Grochov and took up position. In this battle, Russian losses amounted to 3,700 people, of which up to 100 officers. The losses of the Poles were no less, only the Russians captured 600 people.
After the battle of Varva, the troops of General Chlopitsky numbered 56 thousand (36 thousand infantry, 12 thousand cavalry, 8 thousand cosigners), and without Krukovetsky - 44 thousand people. The Russians had 72 thousand people (56.5 thousand infantry and 16.5 thousand cavalry) with 252 guns, and without Shakhovsky 59.5 thousand people with 196 guns. Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Dibich intended to give battle on February 14, with the main blow being delivered to the left, most open, flank of the enemy by Shakhovsky's detachment, reinforced by the III Reserve Cavalry Corps, through Belolenka to Brudno and further, cutting off the Poles from Prague. Rosen was to turn around on both sides of Kavenchin; Palen - join his left flank, having the 1st division to the left of the highway; reserve - gather for Kavenchin. At 9:30 am on February 13, Russian artillery opened fire, and the right flank slowly began to advance towards the alder grove. The edge of the grove was occupied by the Polish brigade Goland, behind it was the brigade of Chidevsky, behind the grove was the division of Skrzynetsky. At about 10 a.m. Rosen attacked five battalions of the 24th Division, which broke into the front of the grove, but, having reached the ditch, were driven back. Rosen brought six battalions of the 25th division into action, but Zhimirsky's division forced these units into a gradual retreat. In reinforcements, two regiments of the 25th division were moved to the right, and two regiments of the 1st corps to the left. The second attack was carried out by eighteen battalions, which by 11 o'clock drove Zhimirsky's division out of the grove, while Zhimirsky himself was mortally wounded. The Russians, having occupied the opposite edge, were under canister fire. Khlopitsky advanced Skrzhinetsky's division, followed by Zhimirsky's division. With these twenty-three battalions, eighteen Russian battalions were driven out of the grove. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Grenadier Brigade and the Lithuanian Lancers Division advanced between Kavenchin and Ząbki. The Nesvizh carabinieri with the Volynsky Lancers drove the Poles out of Zombok and the Macias colony, two Lancers covered the flank to the right of Kavenchin. The cannonade from Belolenka continued, and at 12 noon Dibich sent a third attack on the grove: on the right - Rosen's corps, on the left - the entire 3rd division. The chief of the army headquarters, Count Tol, having attached a battery of the Lithuanian grenadier artillery brigade to the two batteries of the VI Corps on the right flank and taking the Zhytomyr regiment as a cover, began to bypass the grove on the right, and Neidgrad, having moved six battalions of the 3rd division into the grove, with the rest began to bypass her left. In addition to the artillery of the 1st corps, the 20th cavalry artillery company and four gun guard detachments were advanced along the sides of the highway under the cover of the Olviopol hussars. Having captured the edge, parts of the VI Corps were again stopped by fire because of the large ditch. The artillery of Count Toll, which was bypassing the grove, was also stopped by the moat. On the left flank, fresh units of the 3rd division, having overturned the enemy and partly skirted the grove, fell again under buckshot. Khlopitsky brought in the entire division of Zhimirsky, who had previously supported only Skrzhinetsky, and himself, at the head of four battalions of guards grenadiers, led the attack on the right flank. Our tired regiments were forced to retreat, and gradually the Poles again occupied the entire grove. But this was their last success in this battle. The field marshal reinforced the troops with the 3rd brigade of the 2nd grenadier division, deployed part of the III reserve cavalry corps and personally led the troops on the offensive. The Grenadier Brigade went between the VI Corps and the 3rd Division. Having learned at that time about the departure of Prince Shakhovsky from Belolenka, and the Poles could easily retreat to Prague, Dibich decided to support the 3rd brigade of the grenadiers with the 2nd brigade of the same division (in total, 38 battalions participated in the subsequent fourth attack), and to the right of the grove to launch 3 th cuirassier division with the Life Guards Lancers, under the general leadership of Tolya, in order to bypass the cavalry to facilitate the capture of the groves and strike the cuirassiers to break the front of the retreating Poles and at least throw their right flank to the swamps near the Brest highway. The grenadiers broke into the grove first, followed by the rest. The Poles tried to stop behind the moat, but, having no more reserves, they were overturned, and the grove finally remained with the Russians. Artillery (total up to 90 guns) operated on the Polish artillery behind the grove. Tolya's cavalry was forced to overcome obstacles in a column of six and line up under the fire of the Polish battery, and the Poles gained time to build a square. Our 24 Gerstenzweig cavalry guns and 8 foot guns moved forward, under the cover of which the cavalry deployed in battle formation. To ensure cavalry maneuver, the 1st brigade of the 2nd cavalry division, which made up the right flank order of battle infantry, advanced to the northern edge of the grove. At the same time, a Lithuanian grenadier brigade with two lancers regiments occupied the colonies of Macias and Elsner, and the Lithuanian lancers regiment contacted Toll's cavalry.
The defeat of the Poles in the Battle of Grochow
General Khlopitsky ordered Krukovetsky's division and Lubensky's cavalry to move to the grove, but at that time he was wounded and carried away from the battlefield. From that moment on, the control of the battle of the Poles disappeared.
Tolya's cavalry lined up in three lines. It was decided to attack simultaneously on a signal, and in order to cut off the Poles from Prague, each subsequent regiment had to take to the right and move forward on the right flank. However, Tol, and with him the head of the cuirassier division, got carried away with a private attack by the lancers against the Polish battalion that had left the grove. The lancers were stopped by a deep ditch under enemy fire. Tol called in a horse battery, which cleared the way for the uhlans. At the same time, Albert's cuirassiers attacked, the attack lasted 20 minutes. The cuirassiers lost about half of their composition, but the Poles began to panic, and the commander-in-chief Mikhail-Gedeon Radziwill himself rode off to Warsaw. Toll, being with the lancers, did not have time to support this attack with the entire division, and then did nothing decisive. Seeing success, the cuirassier Baron Geismar with the cavalry of the left flank hurried up the attack and moved forward the Sumy and Olviopol hussars and Ukrainian lancers with a horse battery, followed by a brigade of rangers. The hussars shot down Shembek's rangers and overturned his division. At this time, Palen also moved the infantry of the left flank: the 1st division - to the left of the highway, and the 2nd - to the right. The Polish chiefs lost their heads, only Skrzyniecki restored order and took up a position on the hills near the monument. On the left, Uminsky's cavalry and the brigade of Krukovetsky's division were attached to him, behind him was Lubensky's cavalry. Only at 4 pm Dibich was finally pleased with the arrival of Shakhovsky and, announcing to the grenadiers that he was giving them the completion of the victory, led them forward, led by the Lithuanian Grenadier Brigade and the lancers advancing from the Elsner colony. When the grenadiers approached the Polish positions, it was about 5 pm. The demoralization of the Poles was complete: Radziwill even ordered to clear Prague and the bridgehead. Then Skrzynetsky was appointed to cover the crossing, which was carried out in disorder from 6 pm to midnight. Protection of the bridgehead was entrusted to Malakhovsky (Krukovetsky division).
The losses of the Poles in this battle amounted to more than 12 thousand people and three guns, the losses of the Russians - 9500 people. The battle near Grokhov was a success for the Russian troops, but a tactical success. Dibich failed to destroy most of the Polish troops. The Poles still had two fortresses on the right bank of the Vistula - Modlin and Prague. Russian troops reached Prague, but failed to capture it. At this time, a number of personnel changes took place in the Polish army. General Zhymirsky died of wounds received near Grochov, and Radziwill refused to command, General Skrzynetsky was appointed in his place. In the city of Puława on the Vistula, a hundred miles above Warsaw, the townspeople slaughtered a squadron of the Kazan Dragoon Regiment. By order of General Skrzynetsky, the corps of General Dvernitsky, with a total strength of up to 15 thousand people, crossed the Vistula and, having overturned the vanguard of Lieutenant General Baron Kreutz, went to Lublin. Lublin was taken by the Poles, but on February 27 the Russians recaptured it. However, the raid of General Dvernitsky taught Dibich, and he sent his chief of staff, Count Toll, south with the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Corps, part of the 3rd Grenadier Division and the Lithuanian Grenadier Brigade, instructing him to cut off the Poles' corps from the Vistula. Dibich himself with the main forces retreated from Prague to the east. Having replenished his supplies of equipment, the field marshal decided to take Warsaw and in the first days of March 1831 began to concentrate the army at Tyrchin, where he was going to cross the Vistula. The VI Corps of Baron Rosen was left to cover the operation from the rear on the Brest Highway. Skrzynetsky, who managed to raise the spirit of his army, who had fallen after Grochow, was aware of the danger of the Russian forcing the Vistula and decided at all costs to prevent this operation, to distract Dibich from the crossing. Having secretly concentrated up to 40 thousand people near Prague, on March 20 he inflicted a severe defeat on the VI Corps at Dembe-Vilka. In this battle, Skrzyniecki had a large numerical superiority: 33,000 Poles against 18,000 Russians. The Russians lost 2,500 killed and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, five banners and ten cannons. The Poles lost up to 2,000 killed and wounded. As a result of the battle at Dembe-Wilke, Dibich suspended the offensive to the Vistula, postponed the crossing, and, moving to the rescue of Rosen, connected with him on March 31 at Sedlec. An important role in the defense of the Poles was played by the fortress of Zamostye. On February 21, 1831, commandant Krysinsky sent to Ustilug, located 60 versts east of Zamostye, four line companies with four guns, reinforced with cosigniers and krakus (foot and horse volunteers). This detachment unexpectedly attacked the advance detachment of the Zhytomyr regiment and captured the commander of the battalion, Colonel Bogomolets, as well as 5 officers and 370 lower ranks. From March 5 to March 28, the corps of General Dvernitsky was in Zamosc. Then Dvernitsky set out from the fortress to Volhynia. On April 7, near the town of Boremle, Dvernitsky had a battle with the Russian IV Cavalry Corps, Lieutenant General Ridiger. Ridiger had 9,000 men and 36 cannons, while Dvernitsky had 6,000 men and 12 cannons. The Russians lost 700 men and 5 guns, but
Dvernitsky was forced to abandon the campaign in Podolia. In a new battle with the Russians on April 15 at the Ludinskaya tavern, Dvernitsky lost up to a thousand people, including 250 prisoners. After this battle, Dvernitsky crossed the Austrian border with 4,000 Poles and was interned by the Austrians. Field Marshal Dibich expected to go on the offensive from Sedlec on April 12, but was stopped by the order of Nicholas I, who ordered to wait for the arrival of the guard. On April 27, Kreutz alone defeated Khrshanovsky's detachment near Lyubartov. During the stop at Sedlec, cholera broke out in the army, in March there were only two hundred cases, and by the end of April their number had already reached five thousand. Having learned from scouts that Skrzyniecki intended to attack on May 1, Dibich decided to preempt him and pushed the Polish vanguards away from Janov. However, Skrzhinetsky, having concentrated a 45,000-strong army near Serock on May 1, moved in the Lomzhinsky direction against the Guards Corps, in which there were about 27 thousand people with the Saken detachment. After a series of stubborn rearguard battles, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich withdrew his corps to Snyadov. Skrzhinetsky, despite his superiority in strength, did not dare to attack the Russian guards, but attacked, for a start, the Saken detachment, which occupied Ostrolenka. But Saken promptly retreated to Lomza. During this operation, two Polish divisions (Khlapovetsky and Gelgud) went to the rear of the Guards Corps, which retreated beyond the Narew to the Bialystok region. Attempts by the Poles to cross the Narew were unsuccessful.
Russian victory in the battle of Ostroleka
Dibich stubbornly refused to believe that the Poles were advancing against the guards, but when Lubensky's Polish cavalry ended up at Nur-on-Nareva, the field marshal had to believe. Moving quickly along with the grenadiers, I infantry and III cavalry corps, on May 10 he threw back Lubensky and went to the Polish army. Skrzhinetsky began to retreat, but on May 14 Dibich overtook him and defeated him at Ostroleka. Only the 3rd Grenadier and 1st Infantry Divisions (15,000 men) took part in this battle from the Russian side, which had previously covered a little more than a day and 70 miles on loose sand. The Poles had 24 thousand. The honor of victory first of all belongs to the Suvorovites - Phanagorians and Astrakhans, who crossed the Narew and fought for a long time with the entire Polish army. In vain Skrzynetsky rushed ahead of the front of his troops, sending them forward: “Napshud Malachowski! Rybinski napshud! Vshisty napshud!" The Russians lost over a third of their troops, and the Poles - 7100 people killed and wounded, 2100 prisoners and three guns. Having withdrawn his defeated army to Warsaw, Skrzynetsky decided to save the situation by diversion to Lithuania and moved Gelgud's division there, consisting of 12 thousand people. But in less than two weeks, the Poles had 24 thousand people in Lithuania, the same number of Russian troops were there by this time. June 7 Gelgud attacked Vilna, but was defeated by Saken and retreated to Prussia, where he was interned. Meanwhile, the most terrible enemy appeared on the battlefield - cholera. In the hospitals of the Russian active army in 1831, 27,393 people died from diseases, the vast majority from cholera. On May 30, Field Marshal Dibich died of cholera in Pultusk, and on June 17, cholera mowed down Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich in Vitebsk. It must be said that Dibich died “on time” - the emperor was very dissatisfied with him and already in early April 1831 he summoned Field Marshal I.F. from the Caucasus to St. Petersburg. Paskevich (Count of Erivan), with whom he wanted to replace Dibich. On May 8, Paskevich arrived in St. Petersburg, and on June 4 he received the post of army commander in Poland. So that Paskevich could get to the army faster, the tsar specially sent him on the Izhora steamer from Kronstadt to the Prussian port of Memel. From there, by dry route, Paskevich reached the main headquarters in Pultusk. The tsar demanded that Paskevich quickly put an end to the uprising, since France was already about to officially recognize the Polish government.
Russian victory on the Vistula
Nicholas I personally approved the campaign plan, according to which Paskevich was to cross the Vistula near the Prussian border, near Osek, and from there move to Lowicz-Warsaw, securing his rear with a border, and the left flank with the Vistula. Bridges were built on June 1, and the crossing took place from June 4 to 7. Skrzhinetsky tried to distract Paskevich from the crossing by moving on the weak detachment of General Golovin stationed in Kalushyn. But Golovin himself went on the offensive against the Poles and with this bold movement pinned them down, ensuring the deployment of the crossed Russian army on the left bank of the Vistula. Golovin had 5,500 men and 14 cannons, while Skrzyniecki had 22,000 men and 42 cannons. Golovin deployed his detachment on a very wide front, thus misleading the Poles about their numbers. Russian losses were 250 killed, 165 wounded, 700 prisoners (all were wounded) and one cannon. The losses of the Poles are unknown: about 1000 people died, 160 people were taken prisoner. Failing, Skrzyniecki returned to Warsaw. On July 20, Russian troops occupied the city of Lovich, 75 miles west of Warsaw. Fearing that Paskevich would move from there directly to Warsaw, Skrzynetsky took up a position near Bolimov, but on July 25 he was forced to retreat behind Ravka. Panic seized Warsaw, Skrzyniecki was replaced by Dembinsky. On August 3, a coup took place, Krukovetsky was appointed president of the Commonwealth, and the Sejm subordinated the commander-in-chief to the government. But Dembinsky was against this submission and resigned, then Malazovsky was appointed instead.
In the meantime, General Ridiger with a detachment of 11 thousand people crossed the Vistula on July 25 and 26 and took Radom, and then moved most of his detachment to reinforce the main Russian army near Warsaw. Malakhovsky, having concentrated over a third of his forces (20,000 men of General Romarino) in Prague, decided to repeat Skrzynetsky's March maneuver on Dembe-Belka74 and defeat the VI Corps on the Brest Highway. By this he intended to divert the main forces of Paskevich to the right bank of the Vistula. Romarino pressed Rosen, but was ordered not to bury himself in view of the critical situation in Warsaw and not move away from the capital. The demonstration of Lubensky's cavalry to the Russian crossings at Osek was not successful. On August 6, Paskevich's army, whose number was increased to 85 thousand people, surrounded Warsaw, which was defended by 35 thousand Poles, not counting the Romarino corps, which acted independently.
From the spring of 1831, the Poles rapidly fortified their capital. Warsaw was surrounded by three lines of fortifications, and, in addition, the Poles set up separate fortified points near the villages of Krulikarnya, Rakovets, Wola and Paris, which were moved forward one or two versts from the first line. There were up to 100 separate fortifications (redoubts and lunettes) in the two front lines, of which 81 were on the left bank. The role of the third defensive line was played by a solid city rampart, erected much earlier for customs purposes and now only reinforced with redans and flushes. Inside Warsaw, on Motokowska Square and the so-called Place of Armor, two redoubts were built as strongholds for the struggle inside the city. The Mirovsky barracks, connected by barricades and adapted for stubborn defense, also served the same purpose. For the defense of Prague, the Poles also took advantage of the already existing city rampart and built several separate fortifications in front. The strongest on the left bank was the Volya redoubt with bastion and polygon faces and a reduit in the southwestern corner. The parapets were 12 feet (3.66 m) high, and the redoubt was surrounded by a deep ditch with a palisade. Inside the fortification there was a garden and a stone church, surrounded by a stone wall 8 feet (2.44 m) high with loopholes in it. Emperor Nicholas I ordered Paskevich to offer the Warsaw garrison to capitulate, while promising to grant amnesty to all who surrendered. However, Krukowiecki declared that the terms of surrender were humiliating and refused.
The assault on Warsaw, the final victory over Poland
At dawn on August 25, the first assault on Warsaw took place. The main blow was directed at the Volya redoubt and adjacent fortifications No. 54 and 55. By order of Paskevich, 100 Russian field guns drove up 300 sazhens (640 m) 75 to the Polish fortifications and fired intensely for two hours. Then fortifications No. 54 and 55 were taken by storm.
However, "Will", which had 12 guns and 5 infantry battalions, continued to hold out. Then Paskevich ordered another 70 guns to be brought up and attacked Volya from three sides. By 11 o'clock in the morning "Will" was taken. The Poles threw 12 battalions into a counterattack to recapture the "Will", but failed. By the evening of August 25, the Russians occupied another redoubt and the fortified village of Rakovech near the Yerusalim outpost. The next morning, August 26, the assault on Warsaw resumed. Under the cover of fire of 120 guns, the Russian infantry attacked the suburbs of Volskoye and Chiste and captured two redoubts. Then the Russians captured the Volskaya and Yerusalimskaya outposts and broke through the city rampart. By midnight (from August 26 to August 27), Russian troops captured the rampart for 12 versts. The Poles blocked the streets with barricades and set up in the most dangerous places land mines. However, the Sejm authorized General Krukowiecki to capitulate. Krukowiecki sent a written act to Paskevich, which stated that Warsaw and the entire Polish people "submit unconditionally to the will of the legitimate government." According to the terms of the surrender, the Polish troops were to clear Warsaw and Prague by 5 o'clock in the morning on August 27 and proceed to Plock. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Russian troops entered Warsaw under the command of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, while Paskevich himself had been shell-shocked by a close-flying cannonball the day before. During the two-day assault on Warsaw, the Russians lost 10 thousand people, and the Poles - up to 11 thousand. The Russians took 3,000 men and 132 guns prisoner. On the evening of August 27, Paskevich arrived in Warsaw and occupied the Belvedere Palace. The count decided to become like Suvorov. He sent Nicholas I to St. Petersburg by courier Suvorov's grandson with a brief report: "Warsaw is at the feet of Your Imperial Majesty." Nicholas liked this report, and he rewarded for this feat with royal grace. Count Paskevich-Erivansky was elevated to princely dignity with the name of Warsaw and with the title of His Serene Highness. I note from myself that Suvorov took Warsaw with a completely different balance of power, and received the princely title for the Italian campaign, and, by the way, the French General Moreau is no match for General Krukovetsky. The Polish corps of General Rozmarino (15,000 men and 42 guns), which the Varsovians hoped so much for, was pushed back by Russian troops to the Austrian border. Rosemary's troops crossed the border and were interned by the Austrians.
The Polish troops, who left Warsaw, refused to submit to the terms of surrender three days later. The officers began to argue that Krukowiecki did not have sufficient authority to sign the surrender. Commander-in-Chief Malakhovsky was replaced by General Rybansky. However, Paskevich's troops pursued Rybansky and forced him to leave for Prussia on September 23. There, 20 thousand Poles with 96 guns were interned. Two days later, on September 25 (October 7), the Polish garrison of the Modlin fortress surrendered. The Zamostye fortress was the last to capitulate - on October 9 (21), 1831. After the suppression of the uprising, Nicholas I radically changed the policy towards the Kingdom of Poland. In November 1831, the emperor appointed I.F. Paskevich as his viceroy in Warsaw. The Russian emperor destroyed the Polish constitution. In February 1832, the Organic Statute was published, according to which the Kingdom of Poland was declared integral part Russian Empire, and the Polish crown - hereditary in the Russian imperial house: a separate coronation of the emperor was no longer required. The administration of Poland was entrusted to the Administrative Council, headed by the viceroy of the emperor. The Sejm was abolished. The Polish constitutional charter, together with the captured banners of the Polish army, was ordered by Nicholas to be kept in the Armory in Moscow as historical relics. An indemnity in the amount of more than 20 million rubles was imposed on the Kingdom of Poland. The Polish national troops were abolished, and several thousand soldiers and officers who participated in the uprising were exiled to Siberia and the Caucasus. In the Kingdom of Poland, an all-imperial system of recruiting for the Russian army was introduced. In Poland, the number of troops was increased. The organic statute limited the competence of the State and Administrative Councils, but separate administration and laws were retained. The Polish language was also retained as the language of internal administration and education, but all correspondence with St. Petersburg now had to be conducted in Russian. The statute provided for gentry and city self-government, but it was never introduced. Paskevich began to gradually replace positions in the administration with Russian officials. The authorities supported class privileges of the gentry and encouraged conservative and clerical sentiments. Marriage affairs were returned to the competence of the Catholic Church, and civil marriage was abolished. The number of general education secondary schools, primarily gymnasiums, was reduced. development was encouraged primary schools and special educational institutions, such as real gymnasiums. History of Russia has become a compulsory subject in all schools. The teaching of subjects in Polish, as well as teaching it as a separate subject, was reduced. History, geography and statistics were to be taught in Russian. By personal order of Nicholas I, the Church Slavonic language was included in the gymnasium program, which was seen as a means to facilitate the transition to Russian-language teaching of various subjects.
The state structure of Poland after joining the Russian Empire
In 1837, the voivodships were renamed into provinces, the voivodship commissions began to be called provincial boards, and their chairmen became civil governors. In general, local authorities received Russian names, which expressed their dependence on the central organs of the empire. In order to erase all signs of the isolation of the kingdom, the customs border separating it from the Russian Empire was destroyed. Since the mid 30s. 19th century in the Kingdom of Poland, the volume of construction of horse-drawn roads increased sharply. In 1845, the first railway in Russian Poland, Warsaw - Skierniewice, 55 versts long, was put into operation, and in 1848, the Lovich - Czestochowa - Austrian border railway (262 versts long). On February 15, 1851, the Highest Decree was issued on the construction of the Petersburg-Warsaw railway line. The route of this highway passed through Gatchina, Luga, Pskov, Ostrov, Dvinsk, Vilna, Grodno, Bialystok. The design length was 1280 km. In 1859, trains from St. Petersburg went to Pskov, in 1860 - to Dinaburg, and in 1862 - to Warsaw. In the same 1862, the Vilna railway line was put into operation - the Verzhbolovo border station, where it was connected to the Prussian railway system. By 1831, the western fortresses of Russia - Zamostye, Modlin, Brest and others - eked out a miserable existence. The uprising of 1831 radically changed the views of the Military Department on the fortress defense of the western regions of Russia. At the same time, there was also a subjective factor - Emperor Nicholas I, while still a Grand Duke, was in charge engineering and fortresses. Nicholas I ordered the construction of three lines of fortresses to protect the western border. The first line included fortresses located in the Kingdom of Poland: Modlin, Warsaw, Ivan Gorod and Zamosc. On February 19, 1832, Nicholas I personally approved the plan for the overhaul of the Modlin fortress, drawn up by Major General Den. On March 14, 1834, the fortress was renamed Novogergievsk. In 1836, the construction of the fortress was close to completion, and 495 guns and 122 fortress guns were assigned to its armament. The garrison of the fortress was to consist of eight battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, seven companies of fortress artillery and one company of sappers. In 1841 the construction of Novogeorgievsk was completed. At the beginning of 1863, according to the state, the fortress should have had 709 guns, but in fact there were 683. The most powerful guns of the Novogeorgievsk fortress were 79 one-pound (196-mm) unicorns, 49 96-pound (229-mm) carronades, 15 five-pound (334 -mm) mortar and 22 two-pound (245 mm) mortars. All of these tools were cast iron. Especially for strengthening the capital of Poland, almost within the city on the left bank of the Vistula, Major General Den designed the Alexander Citadel. It had a dual purpose: together with other fortresses, it formed the first line of defense, and also kept the capital under fire. So, part of the one-pood unicorns received a large elevation angle, as stated in the statement, "on the elution machines for the bombardment of the city." On the right bank of the river there was a bridgehead - the fort "Slivitsky", named in memory of the colonel of the general staff Slivitsky, who in 1831, during the capture of Warsaw, set fire to the Prague bridge. The fortress was founded on May 19, 1832. In 1835, Nicholas I arrived in Warsaw and examined the commissioned fortress. Receiving a deputation from the aristocracy of Warsaw at the Lazenkovsky Palace, he said among other things: “If you persist in dreams of an independent Poland and other similar fantasies, you will bring upon yourself the greatest misfortunes. I built a citadel here. I warn you that at the slightest disturbance I will order to shoot at the city, I will turn Warsaw into ruins and will not rebuild it any more. At the beginning of 1863, it was supposed to have 341 guns in the Alexander Citadel, but in fact there were 335. The most powerful guns were 40 one-pound unicorns, twelve 96-pound carronades, 16 five-pound and 16 three-pound mortars. In 1837, the Ivangorod fortress76 was founded at the confluence of the Veprzh River with the Vistula. The fortress was built by Major-General The plan of the Alexander citadel and its advanced forts Den. By the beginning of 1863, according to the state, the fortress was supposed to have 328 guns, but in fact it consisted of 326. The most powerful guns of Ivangorod were 43 one-pood unicorns, four 96-pound carronades, three five-pood and 22 three-pood mortars. The weakest fortress of the Kingdom of Poland was Zamosc. Her in the 1830s. almost never rebuilt. In 1833, it was armed with 257 guns and 50 fortress guns. The garrison had three infantry battalions, one cavalry squadron, four artillery companies and one sapper company. After the uprising of 1863, the Zamostye fortress was abolished, and the fortifications were demolished. The second line of fortresses was outside the Kingdom of Poland. The main fortress in it was Brest-Litovsk. The construction of the Brest-Litovsk fortress began in June 1833 under the leadership of the same Major General Den, and 5 years later the fortress was put into operation. By the beginning of 1863, the fortress was supposed to have 442 guns, but actually consisted of 423. The most powerful guns of Brest-Litovsk were 112 one-pound unicorns, nine 96-pound carronades, two five-pound and 25 three-pound mortars. In the rear there was a third line of fortresses, the main of which were Kyiv, Bobruisk and Dinaburg. The system of Russian fortresses was continuously improved from 1830 to 1894. In the West, the state of engineering defense of the Russian border was rather highly appreciated. Based on the data of German experts, Friedrich Engels wrote: “The Russians, especially after 1831, did what their predecessors missed doing. Modlin (Novogeorgievsk), Warsaw, Ivangorod, Brest-Litovsk form a whole system of fortresses, which, by the combination of its strategic capabilities, is the only one in the world. In my opinion, here the classics can be trusted: firstly, he was well versed in military affairs, and secondly, he hated Russia very much, and it is difficult to accuse him of embellishment.
