Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov

Russian military leader

• Born: November 24, 1729
• Birthplace: Near Moscow, Russia
• Died: May 18, 1800
• Place of death: His estate, Kobrin, near St. Petersburg, Russia

By abandoning the conventional defensive tactics of the period, Suvorov created a new type of army in which speed, mobility, and independence of judgment by junior officers were valued more than drills and sieges.

Early Life

Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov (uhl-yihk-SAHN-duhr vuhs-YEEL-yihv-yihch sew-VAW-ruhf) was born on his parents’ estate, southwest of Moscow. His paternal grandfather, Ivan, had been an aide to Czar Peter the Great, while his father, Vasili, entered the military service as an administrator, achieving the rank of generalanshef, between lieutenant general and field marshal. Vasili married Avodita Theodeyevna Manukova, daughter of the governor of St. Petersburg.

At birth, Suvorov was underweight and colicky. As he matured, he remained puny and sickly. Limited in physical activities, he turned to his father’s library, where he enjoyed reading military history. With the aid of tutors, he learned Russian, French, German, Latin, Greek, and eventually Turkish and Italian. Because of his intuitive understanding of military tactics, in October, 1742, he was enrolled in a guards regiment but did not join that regiment until 1745.

Young Suvorov slowly rose in rank, becoming a lieutenant in 1754. He then spent a year at the War College with his father. After that, he joined the Kurinski Regiment and was promoted to major. During this period, he wrote two fictional dialogues that contain the seeds of his later innovative ideas. Russia became involved in the Seven Years’ War, and Suvorov was given command of three battalions stationed in and around Memel. Seeking action, he transferred to the main army fighting Frederick the Great and was present at the Battle of Kunersdorf in August, 1759. He openly criticized the failure of imperial forces to exploit their victory by seizing Berlin. In July, 1761, he was given command of a detachment of cavalry in western Poland and won a series of victories over the Prussians. At Golnau, he received a slight chest wound and went home.

The imperial commander in chief, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev, suggested to the new emperor, Peter III, that Suvorov be rewarded, but Peter rejected the idea and pulled Russia out of the war, surrendering all gains and forcing Russia’s allies to capitulate. Many Russians resented that action; they seized Peter and proclaimed his wife, Catherine, empress. Catherine the Great became fond of the urbane Suvorov and agreed to follow Rumyantsev’s suggestion by appointing young Suvorov colonel of first the Astrakhan and then the Suzdal Regiments.

Life’s Work

Suvorov wrote the regimental regulations detailing his orders: The army must constantly drill—not parade, but simulate battle. Walls were built to be scaled; moats dug to be crossed; men and horses charged with guns blazing. His troops never received the order to retreat, only to advance to a new position. He reduced the size of the military square and abandoned the use of long lines of musketeers. The smaller squares were spread apart; musketeers became marksmen. Speed, mobility, and individual initiative replaced detailed commands. Discipline was essential in Suvorov’s view, but so was health and spirit. In 1765, when the regiment was sent to the forest around Lake Ladoga, he ordered a church, two schools, and gardens built. Suvorov was loved by his troops, and they would follow him to the ends of Europe.

In May, 1771, Suvorov learned that a Franco-Polish army was near Kraków; Suvorov reached the enemy at Landskron. The French general thought that the Russians would rest after their long march, but Suvorov’s army was trained to march into battle. The enemy was destroyed. In September, Suvorov learned that three thousand Poles were advancing. He attacked them at dawn. By 11:00 a.m., the Polish force was routed.

Turkey declared war, and Catherine sent Suvorov into the Balkans. On the night of May 9, 1773, he led his men across the Danube River and destroyed a Turkish force of five thousand at Turtukai. The Turks sent a new army to Turtukai, and, although severely wounded, Suvorov commanded another assault. The Turks were again routed. In July, the still weak hero was transferred to the army under the command of Catherine’s lover, Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin. Suvorov made it clear that he did not like Potemkin and was sent to Hison on the lower Danube.

Still weak, he returned home to marry Princess Varvara Ivanovna Prozorovskaya. By the time their daughter was born, he was back at the front. In the spring of 1774, he trained a detachment and took them across the Danube. On June 10, his eight thousand troops routed sixty thousand Turks at Kozludj. The Turks willingly ended the war on July 10.

For the next few years, Suvorov saw little military action. In August, 1787, however, Turkey again declared war, and Suvorov was entrusted with the defense of the south. He went to Kinburn. On the night of October 2, he destroyed a Turkish armada. All but five hundred of the five thousand Turks were killed, and seven of their ships were sunk. The Russians lost only 227 men, with a similar number of wounded. One of the wounded was Suvorov, who was shot in the arm.

The following spring, Potemkin arrived to besiege Ochakov. Suvorov was asked to command part of the besieging force, but he wrote, “You cannot capture a fortress by looking at it.” Potemkin sent him to Moldavia. He went to Jassy, where he was instructed to link up with an Austrian force. On July 20, 1789, he crushed the Turks at Fokshany. On September 7, the Austrians reported that they were about to be overwhelmed by the Turks. Suvorov’s troops covered 60 miles in thirty-six hours to attack the Turks along the Rymnik River. For his victory, Catherine rewarded Suvorov with a title and money; the Austrians made him a count of the Holy Roman Empire.

Catherine wanted a quick victory to end the war. Potemkin, entrusted with the siege of the Turkish fortress at Ismail, summoned Suvorov, who arrived on December 2 and began to train the troops. Between dawn and afternoon on December 11, a Turkish army of forty thousand was annihilated. Potemkin congratulated the victor; Suvorov responded with a barb. Catherine and her lover were furious, and Suvorov was transferred to Finland, while Catherine showered honors on Potemkin.

After Potemkin died and the Turks agreed to a peace, Catherine allowed Suvorov to return to his command in the south, but when trouble began in Poland, she gave the command to Rumyantsev. The latter summoned Suvorov. On September 6, 1794, Suvorov defeated a Polish force at Krupshchitze and then gathered forces to attack the Polish citadel at Praga. The attack on October 24 was over in three hours. Suvorov negotiated lenient terms for the Poles, but Catherine abrogated all the surrender terms. Furious, Suvorov went to Kobrin, the estate Catherine had awarded him.

The sixty-five-year-old field marshal authorized his aide, Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Anthing, to write and publish a history of his exploits up to 1794. He also began to write and circulate a manuscript, Nauka Pobezhdat (1806; the knowledge [or art] of victory), detailing his theories. “Train hard, fight easy. Train easy, and you will have hard fighting,” became his motto. In language that a peasant could understand, Suvorov revealed his theories. Because of the nature of cannon and rifles, it was better to charge a battery with saber and bayonet than to march slowly forward. Because of the death toll caused by disease, cleanliness was important and a quick storming was less costly than a long siege. Because mobility and speed were the secret to victory, junior officers must be capable of assuming responsibility. Because the army needed the support of the local population, the army must always respect that population. Because spirit was essential, religion was essential.

In November, 1796, Paul I came to the throne. He exiled Suvorov to his estate at Konchansk, south of St. Petersburg, where he spent his time studying the tactics of Napoleon I, the only general he considered his equal. In December, 1798, Russia, Austria, and England united against France. The imperial fleet was sent into the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas, while Russian armies were sent to the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy. The Austrians requested that Suvorov be sent to Italy. The seventy-year-old warrior arrived in Italy in April, 1799, and was appointed commander in chief of the Austrian army, even though the Austrians disliked his battle plan.

Suvorov and the commander of the imperial fleet complained to Paul that their allies restricted their freedom. Suvorov entered Turin on May 14. He secured local cooperation only to have his arrangements countermanded. Suvorov was in a bind: Logistic support was provided by the Austrians, and they vetoed his actions. When word arrived of an approaching French army, Suvorov left the Austrians and crushed the French at the Trebbia River. When word of that victory spread, isolated French citadels capitulated.

Paul demanded that Emperor Francis II of Austria give Suvorov a free hand, but Francis refused. Word came that the last French force in Italy was approaching, and Suvorov met and destroyed it at Novi. He then demanded permission to invade France, but Francis again refused and ordered him to join the Russians in Switzerland. Learning of Suvorov’s intent to join Russian forces led by Aleksandr Rimsky-Korsakov in Switzerland, the French fortified St. Gotthard Pass and planned to destroy the Russians at Zurich. Suvorov reached Taverne on September 15, but the Austrians had not delivered the promised supplies. Suvorov awaited the supplies for four days.

On September 21-22, the Russians finally cleared the French from St. Gotthard Pass and then defeated another French force at Kinzig Pass. The four-day delay at Taverne proved fatal, however, for the French had used the time to destroy the Russian army in Switzerland. When Suvorov learned of the disaster, he decided to go to Glarus via the Pragel Pass. A French force blocked him, while the victorious French army attacked his rear flank, but Suvorov’s army defeated both French forces. By this time, Suvorov was coughing and had a high fever. Word arrived of the failure of the Anglo-Russian campaign in the Netherlands, and Paul informed Francis that all Russian troops were ordered home. Paul promoted Suvorov to the unprecedented rank of generalissimo. By March, 1800, the sick hero had returned to his Kobrin estate.

Paul received a full report and decided that the allies had to be punished. He began to plan to send Russian troops to India to help the Indians oust the British. He became furious at Suvorov, who had won all the victories while breaking his specific military instructions and dress codes. Suvorov was stripped of his honors. Sick and broken in spirit, Suvorov died on the afternoon of May 18, 1800, regretting that he had not had the opportunity to face Napoleon.

Significance

Until the mid-nineteenth century, European historians tended to dismiss Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov as an eccentric who could not possibly have won so many victories. In Russia, historians paid scant attention to his exploits until after the disaster of the Crimean War. While military technology, altered by the Industrial Revolution, made Suvorov’s use of the saber and bayonet obsolete, his vision of speed and mobility became increasingly popular. As World War II approached, Suvorov’s writings were published and studied. His victories over the superior forces of France and Turkey raised him to the level of national hero and medals were given in his honor during the dark days of 1941-1942.

As Russian sources began to be studied by non-Russian historians, Suvorov’s achievements began to be understood and appreciated. While many of his tactics are irrelevant in modern times, the spirit he imparted to his troops, which allowed them to perform exactly as he wished, is still envied.

Bibliography

Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Making extensive use of Catherine’s writings as well as other primary documents and unpublished material, the author stresses the personal side of Catherine’s court. Excellent for understanding other Russian generals such as Potemkin and Rumyantsev.

Blease, W. Lyon. Suvorof. London: Constable, 1920. The author, an army doctor who spoke Russian, wrote the first biography in English that attempted to deal with Suvorov’s personal life. Blease understood the charismatic nature of Suvorov’s leadership but did not appreciate his generalship.

De Madariaga, Isabel. Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1981. Making extensive use of Russian sources, the author integrates Suvorov’s military activity with the whole of Russian foreign policy. An excellent study of Russia’s response to the Enlightenment emerges.

Duffy, Christopher. Eagles Over the Alps: Suvorov in Italy and Switzerland, 1799. Chicago: Emperor’s Press, 1999. Duffy, a military historian, describes Suvorov’s final campaigns in Italy and Switzerland. Includes line maps and orders of battle.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Russia’s Military Way to the West: Origins and Nature of Russian Military Power, 1700-1800. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. This is an excellent study of the growth of Russia’s military power in the eighteenth century. The last chapters concentrate on Suvorov’s exploits.

Longworth, Philip. The Art of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Generalissimo Suvorov, 1729-1800. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965. Making extensive use of Russian sources, the author has written an excellent biography. While little is mentioned of Suvorov’s personal life, there are extensive quotations from his military writings and a useful summary of Suvorov’s place in military history.

Montefiore, Sebag. Prince of Princes: The Life of Potemkin. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2001. A comprehensive biography about Potemkin. Includes information about Suvorov’s commands and battles as well as his relationship with Potemkin.

Osipov, K. Alexander Suvorov. Translated by Edith Bone. London: Hutchinson, 1941. This is an English translation of one of the many Soviet editions that appeared almost annually between 1940 and 1950. While much of the work is uncritical hero-worship, it is useful in understanding Suvorov’s growing reputation, especially during the war years.

Saul, Norman E. Russia and the Mediterranean, 1797-1807. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Despite the title, the work details the growing Russo-English conflict in the Mediterranean from the 1780’s. English policy prevented Catherine and Paul from using the Baltic fleet to help Suvorov and the fleet commander in the Mediterranean/Balkan region.

Soloveytchik, George. Potemkin: A Picture of Catherine’s Russia. Rev. ed. London: Percival Marshall, 1949. While lacking footnotes and a bibliography, this is still a useful study of the relationship between Catherine, Potemkin, and Suvorov.

Waliszewski, Kazimierz. Paul the First of Russia: The Son of Catherine the Great. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1913. This is an excellent translation from a French work that made extensive use of Russian sources, especially the letters from Suvorov to Paul. It should be noted, however, that all footnotes from the original edition are omitted.