An incredible story about the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. The Persian campaign of the Karyagin or the Russian Spartans of June. Bayonet attack
Publication date: 06/19/2012
I read and thought about what I would do if I were under the command of Colonel Karyakin. And I asked myself whether I could be worthy of Russian heroes or not.
And I realized: there must be a colonel! A real colonel!
And if there is a Russian spirit in each of us, then there is!
If not, then no!
So read on.
Suddenly you and your comrades will have to face thugs and there will be many of them.
They told me how steadfastly a small detachment of Libyans, commanded by a graduate, fought against the militants Russian Academy Frunze.
It was more difficult for them. They knew there would be no help.
And there will be no mercy.
And there were enemies all around, and NATO planes were bombing them from above...
More about this feat later.
Because today we will tell you about Colonel Karyagin and five hundred Russians.
This happened more than two hundred years ago...
Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble the real one military history. It looks like a prequel to "300 Spartans" (40,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is madness!" - No, fuck, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). A golden page of Russian history, combining carnage madness with the highest tactical skill, amazing cunning and stunning Russian arrogance. But first things first.
In 1805 Russian empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory by that time it had long since sunk, and the British, who had never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete assholes, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the power of his genius, could not switch the “Fail after Fail” TV channel. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, Ideyka appeared among the Persian Baba Khan, who was purring as he read reports about our European defeats.
Baba Khan stopped purring and went against Russia again, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual production of the usual drama “A crowd of allies and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone,” St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that there were only about 10,000 soldiers in the entire Caucasus .
Therefore, having learned that the city of Shusha (this is in the current Nagorno-Karabakh. You know Azerbaijan, right? So look at the map on the left and below), where Major Lisanevich was with 6 companies of rangers, there are 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas Mirza (I would like to think that he was moving on a huge golden platform, with a bunch of freaks, freaks and concubines on golden chains, like e fakin Xerxes), Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the superhero Karyagin, the superhero Kotlyarevsky and the Russian military spirit.
They did not have time to reach Shusha, the Persians intercepted the Russians on the road, near the Shah-Bulakh River, on June 24. Persian avant-garde. Quite a bit, 10,000 people. Without being at all confused (at that time in the Caucasus, battles with less than a tenfold superiority of the enemy were not considered battles and were officially considered in the reports of the Russian army as “exercises in conditions close to combat”), Karyagin formed an army in a square and spent the whole day repelling countless attacks Persian cavalry, until only scraps remained of the Persians. Then he walked another 14 miles and set up a fortified camp, the so-called Wagenburg or, in Russian, a walk-city, when the line of defense is built from baggage carts (given the Caucasian impassability and the lack of a supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them).
The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing cards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual "Military Art for Dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if there are 40,000 of you and 400 of him"), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians responded by making a sortie, making their way to the Persian battery and blowing it up, throwing the remains of the cannons into the river, presumably with malicious obscene inscriptions.
However, this did not save the situation. After fighting for another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six other assholes ran over to the Persians, the next day they were joined by 19 more hippies - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.
At the officers' council, two options were proposed: or we all stay here and die, who's in favor?
Or we get together, break through the Persian ring of encirclement, after which we STORM a nearby fortress while the Persians are catching up with us, and we are already sitting in the fortress. It 'warm over there. Fine. And horseflies don't bite. The only problem is that there are still the same number of us, and tens of thousands are guarding around, and all this will be like the game Left 4 Dead, where a tiny squad of survivors is attacked by crowds of brutal zombies.
Everyone knew and loved Left 4 Dead already in 1805, so they decided to break through. At night. Having tied up the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the “Staying Alive When You Can’t Stay Alive” program almost escaped the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a shootout, then a chase again, then our people finally broke away from the thugs in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby Shakh-Bulakh river. By that time, a golden aura shone around the remaining participants in the crazy marathon “Fight as much as you can” (let me remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, duels with bayonets and night hide-and-seeks in the forests), so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shah- Bulakha with a cannonball, after which he tiredly asked the small Persian garrison standing in front of him: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Is that true? Or...”.
The guys took the hint and ran away. The Russians barely had time to repair the gate when the main Persian forces appeared, concerned about the disappearance of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After taking inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And the food train had to be abandoned during the breakout from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to his army and, as always, said honestly and directly:
Friends, I know that this is not madness, not Sparta, or anything for which human words were invented. There were 493 of us, 175 of us remained, all wounded, exhausted, and extremely tired. There is no food. There is no convoy. Cannonballs and cartridges are running out. And besides, the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, is sitting right in front of our gates, he will try to take us by storm. Can you hear the laughter of his concubines?
He is the one waiting for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40 thousand Persians could not do. But we won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to have all the nerve you have, because this night we are leaving the fortress and breaking through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE WILL STORM AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON YOUR SHOULDERS. And also freaks and concubines.
This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history, little birds, and you are its main characters. Place sentries on the walls, who will call to each other all night long, when we leave the fortress, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We'll head out as soon as it gets dark enough!
It is said that there was once an angel in Heaven who was in charge of monitoring the impossibility. On July 7 at 10 p.m., when Karyagin set out from the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress, this angel died. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day and was not so much in the state of “The Terminators are coming”, but in the state of “Extremely desperate people, using only anger and fortitude, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this insane, impossible, incredible, unthinkable journey."
With guns, with carts on which the wounded lay, Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost, like a bat, like a creature from That Forbidden Side - and therefore even the soldiers who remained calling to each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although have already prepared to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task “Always Survive”.
A detachment of Russians advancing through darkness, pain, hunger and thirst... - soldiers? Ghosts? - faced a ditch through which it was impossible to transport the guns. And without cannons, the assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time - the Persians could overtake them at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the other heroes, unfortunately, History did not remember - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, no anything.
They jumped down and lay down. The heavy guns drove straight at them.
Only two rose from the ditch. Silently. Gavrila Sidorov and another Russian... Ivan were raised from the ditch? Petra? Taras? Kuzma? Unknown...
On July 8, the detachment entered the village of Kasapet, ate normally for the first time in many days, drank red wine, and moved on to the Mukhrat fortress. Three miles away, a detachment of just over a hundred people was attacked by several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the cannons and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead! Go ahead and save the guns!”
Apparently, the soldiers remembered at WHAT price they got these guns. Red, this time Persian, splashed onto the carriages, and splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and it poured, and it poured, and it poured until the Persians did not flee in panic, having failed to break the resistance of hundreds of Russians.
Muhrat was taken from the move, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin: “We are still alive and for the last three weeks we have been forcing half of the Persian army to chase us. P.S. The borscht is excellent, but there are Persians near the Tertara River !”, immediately set out in the direction of the river with 2,300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then united with valiant warriors Colonel Karyagin.
Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all the officers and soldiers received awards and salaries, and Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the ditch - a monument in the regiment headquarters above his grave.
Afterword.
In conclusion, we consider it worth adding that Karyagin began his service as a private in the Butyrsky Infantry Regiment during Turkish war 1773, and the first cases in which he participated were the brilliant victories of Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. Under the impression of these victories, Karyagin for the first time comprehended the great secret of ruling the hearts of people in battle and by his example and drew that moral faith in the Russian people and in himself, with which he, like the ancient Russian warrior Ilya Muromets, never considered his enemies.
When the Butyrsky regiment was moved to Kuban, Karyagin found himself in the harsh environment of Caucasian near-linear life, was wounded during the assault on Anapa, and from that time on, one might say, never left the enemy’s fire. In 1803, after the death of General Lazarev, he was appointed chief of the seventeenth regiment located in Georgia. Here, for the capture of Ganja, he received the Order of St. George 4th degree, and his exploits in the Persian campaign of 1805 made his name immortal in the ranks of the Caucasian Corps.
Unfortunately, constant campaigns, wounds and especially fatigue during the winter campaign of 1806 completely destroyed Karyagin’s iron health; he fell ill with a fever, which soon developed into a yellow, putrid fever, and on May 7, 1807, the hero passed away. His last award was the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree, received by him a few days before his death.
Happy memory to the real colonel!
There are beautiful battle paintings here
A page in Russian history of 1805 is written in gold. A terrible massacre combined with the high skill of military tactics, the ingenuity of a Russian man, the cunning of a professional warrior and the stunning impudence of the Russians. Russia...
A page in Russian history of 1805 is written in gold. A terrible massacre combined with the high skill of military tactics, the ingenuity of a Russian man, the cunning of a professional warrior and the stunning impudence of the Russians.
Russia is at war with Napoleon, having concluded a coalition with Austria. The Austrians no longer shine with military glory, and the British, a maritime power who joined the coalition, did not know how to fight well on land.
Baba Khan of Persia, carefully monitoring the situation on the military fields, with a happy purr, figured out how to annoy the Russians. Last year's defeat was painful for the Khan's pride. He decided to take revenge.
The moment was chosen well. The Russian army, trying to save the whole world, and its clumsy allies, will not be able to send troops. Khan's intelligence reported that in the city of Shushu there were less than five hundred warriors and 2 guns.
Khan sent his heir Abbas Mirza on a campaign with a huge army. Having heard about the Persian adventure, Prince Tsitsianov sent help to the Russian garrison, led by Colonel Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin. But she was intercepted by the advance detachment of the Persians.
In the Caucasus, it is not considered shameful to engage in battle with an enemy ten times smaller in number. The Persians wrote in a report that the exercises were carried out in conditions as close as possible to a combat situation.
The experienced colonel lined up the soldiers in a square, pushing back senseless attacks. As a result, the horsemen suffered greatly. They retreated to their own, taking away many of the wounded, leaving behind the dead.
The Russians used a method called “walk-field” in defense, lined up with baggage carts. The troops moved along the Caucasian roads with an impressive supply of food and weapons.
The Persians attacked the Russians in the evening, trying fruitlessly to break through the defense until nightfall. But even in war there is a lull. We must at least wash ourselves of the blood and remove the piles of dead bodies from the graves.
Having read the report from the crown prince in the morning, Baba Khan realized that the Russians could not be frightened. If the Russians managed to gain a foothold, there is no point in attacking them head-on. They will win. The Shah ordered the use of cannons.
The Persian artillery began to iron the “walk-field” of the Russian defense, trying to push them away from the river. But the soldiers, having made their way to the enemy batteries, blew them up, scattering the remains of the cannons around the area, drowning some in the river.
The city took courage, but a day later Pavel Karyagin realized that he could not destroy the entire enemy army. There were traitors among the soldiers. Lieutenant Lisenko and six soldiers went over to the Persian side. Nineteen soldiers left in the morning.
Infantry regiment in square. Musketeer companies (1), grenadier companies and platoons (3), regimental artillery (5), regimental commander (6), staff officer (8).
Cowardly pacifists, lack of water, unbearable heat, endless shooting. It's somehow uncomfortable. And a ring of enemies around. Karyagin gathered the officers, deciding to hold a council. They decided to break through the Persian encirclement. Next is the assault on a nearby fortress.
They were Russian. Under the cover of darkness, having destroyed the Persian guards, without breathing, the soldiers left the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. Crazy horse racing, shooting, groans of the wounded...
Everything is mixed up for those who want to survive when it is impossible to survive. The dark forest helped to break away from the chase. Coming to the Shah-Bulakh fortress, the participants in the cross-country military marathon smashed the gate with cannonballs.
Four days of brutal endless battles, hand-to-hand combat, hide and seek in the forests of the Caucasus. Entering the fortress, Karyagin asked in a tired voice: Will you fight with us? Or will you leave like this?
The Persians fled in all directions. But two khans died. Craftsmen from the peasants managed to repair the fortress gates before the arrival of the enemy, who sincerely wanted to meet with the enemy. Then it suddenly became clear that there were no provisions in the fortress.
The Russians abandoned their food carts because they were removing guns from the encirclement. Karyagin told the soldiers: “We are 175 people, many wounded, no water, food, ammunition.
And under the walls of the fortress there is an enemy. They were unable to take the Russians in battle. And now they are waiting for hunger to destroy us. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. We must live.
I propose to break through the defenses and go to storm another fortress, where there is water and food. Have all the arrogance you've ever had in your life. We'll need it today."
Leaving sentries on the fortress wall, they left. In thirteen days of endless fighting, many comrades were lost. Desperate people walked only out of strong anger. A hike that was later called incredible and even unthinkable. They walked, but the movement was heavy.
The darkness, the wild pain of the wounded, the hunger was driving me crazy, I was thirsty. In front of them lay a ditch. Where can you get logs when the enemy is “sitting” on your shoulders? Four Russian soldiers silently lay down under the guns instead of logs.
Two were able to get out of the ditch. The name of one remained in memory - Gavrila Sidorov. They knew that they would remain in the ditch. The guns drove over living bodies. In Kasapet, for the first time, Russian soldiers were able to get drunk, wash and eat.
In a bloody, crazy battle, the guns were recaptured. Karyagin sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov that they were alive, but half of the Persian army was hot on their heels. Prince Tsitsianov and his army, coming to the aid of their comrades, defeated the Persians.
Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin was awarded a golden sword. Everyone who remained alive was also awarded. In addition, they were paid salaries, which are often delayed in the army. Gavrila Sidorov...They erected a monument to him in the regiment where he served.
Pavel Karyagin's military operations in the Caucasus against Persian troops are not similar to real events. It’s tempting to say that this is a legend. But the campaign is reflected in many reports with scrupulous accuracy of the events described. He immortalized Russian weapons and the moral strength of the Russian soldier.
Our hero died in 1807 from yellow fever, which he picked up during another military campaign. The soldiers drank to the repose of his rebellious soul from iron mugs, brushing away a tear. Shortly before his death, he received his last award - Vladimir III degree.
At a time when the glory of the Emperor of France Napoleon was growing on the fields of Europe, and the Russian troops fighting against the French were performing new feats for the glory of Russian weapons, on the other side of the world, in the Caucasus, the same Russian soldiers and officers were accomplishing no less glorious deeds. One of the golden pages in history Caucasian wars entered by Colonel of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Karyagin and his detachment.
The situation in the Caucasus in 1805 was extremely difficult. The Persian ruler Baba Khan was eager to regain the lost influence of Tehran after the Russians arrived in the Caucasus. The impetus for the war was the capture of Ganja by the troops of Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov. Because of the war with France, St. Petersburg could not increase the size of the Caucasian Corps; by May 1805 it consisted of about 6,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. Moreover, the troops were scattered across huge territory. Due to illness and poor nutrition, there was a large shortage, so according to the lists in the 17th Jaeger Regiment there were 991 privates in three battalions, in fact there were 201 people in the ranks.
Having learned about the appearance of large Persian formations, the commander of Russian troops in the Caucasus, Prince Tsitsianov, ordered Colonel Karyagin to delay the enemy’s advance. On June 18, the detachment set out from Elisavetpol to Shusha, consisting of 493 soldiers and officers and two guns. The detachment included: the patron battalion of the 17th Jaeger Regiment under the command of Major Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky, a company of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment of Captain Tatarintsov and the artillerymen of Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich. At this time, Major of the 17th Jaeger Regiment Lisanevich was in Shusha with six companies of Jaegers, thirty Cossacks and three guns. On July 11, Lisanevich’s detachment repulsed several attacks by Persian troops, and soon an order was received to join the detachment of Colonel Karyagin. But, fearing an uprising of part of the population and the possibility of the Persians capturing Shushi, Lisanevich did not do this.
On June 24, the first battle took place with the Persian cavalry (about 3000) who crossed the Shah-Bulakh River. Several enemy attacks trying to break through the square were repulsed. Having walked 14 versts, the detachment camped at the mound of the Kara-Agach-BaBa tract on the Askaran River. In the distance the tents of the Persian armada under the command of Pir Quli Khan could be seen, and this was only the vanguard of the army commanded by the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza. On the same day, Karyagin sent Lisanevich a demand to leave Shusha and go to him, but the latter, due to the difficult situation, could not do this.
At 18.00 the Persians began to storm the Russian camp, and the attacks continued intermittently until nightfall. Having suffered heavy losses, the Persian commander withdrew his troops to the heights around the camp, and the Persians installed four falconette batteries to conduct shelling. From the early morning of July 25, the bombing of our location began. According to the recollections of one of the participants in the battle: “Our situation was very, very unenviable and became worse hour by hour. The unbearable heat exhausted our strength, thirst tormented us, and shots from enemy batteries did not stop..." Several times the Persians suggested that the detachment commander lay down his arms, but was invariably refused. In order not to lose the only source of water, on the night of June 27, a group was launched under the command of Lieutenant Klyupin and Second Lieutenant Prince Tumanov. The operation to destroy enemy batteries was successfully carried out. All four batteries were destroyed, some of the servants were killed, some fled, and the falconets were thrown into the river. It must be said that by this day 350 people remained in the detachment, and half had wounds varying degrees gravity.
From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 26, 1805: “Major Kotlyarevsky was sent by me three times to drive away the enemy who was in front and occupied elevated places, drove away strong crowds of them with courage. Captain Parfenov and Captain Klyukin were sent by me with gunners throughout the battle on various occasions and struck the enemy with fearlessness.”
At dawn on June 27, the main forces of the Persians arrived to storm the camp. The attacks were again carried out throughout the day. At four o'clock in the afternoon an incident occurred that forever remained a black spot in glorious history shelf. Lieutenant Lisenko and six lower ranks ran over to the enemy. Having received information about the difficult situation of the Russians, Abbas Mirza launched his troops into a decisive assault, but having suffered heavy losses, he was forced to abandon further attempts to break the resistance of a desperate handful of people. At night, 19 more soldiers ran over to the Persians. Realizing the gravity of the situation, and the fact that the transition of his comrades to the enemy creates unhealthy moods among the soldiers, Colonel Karyagin decides to break through the encirclement, go to the Shah-Bulakh River and occupy a small fortress standing on its bank. The commander of the detachment sent a report to Prince Tsitsianov, in which he wrote: “... in order not to expose the remainder of the detachment to complete and final destruction and to save people and guns, he made a firm decision to break through with courage through the numerous enemy who surrounded him on all sides...”.
The guide in this desperate enterprise was a local resident, Armenian Melik Vani. Leaving the convoy and burying the captured weapons, the detachment set out on a new campaign. At first they moved in complete silence, then there was a collision with an enemy cavalry patrol and the Persians rushed to catch up with the detachment. True, even on the march, attempts to destroy this wounded and mortally tired, but still fighting group did not bring the Persians any luck; moreover, most of the pursuers rushed to plunder the empty Russian camp. According to legend, the Shah-Bulakh castle was built by Shah Nadir, and received its name from the stream that flowed nearby. There was a Persian garrison (150 people) in the castle under the command of Emir Khan and Fial Khan, the outskirts were occupied by enemy posts. Seeing the Russians, the guards raised the alarm and opened fire. Shots from Russian guns were heard, a well-aimed cannonball broke the gate, and the Russians burst into the castle. In a report dated June 28, 1805, Karyagin reported: “... the fortress was taken, the enemy was driven out of it and from the forest with little loss on our part. On the enemy side, both khans were killed... Having settled down in the fortress, I await the commands of your Excellency.” By evening there were only 179 men in the ranks and 45 gun charges. Having learned about this, Prince Tsitsianov wrote to Karyagin: “In unprecedented despair, I ask you to reinforce the soldiers, and I ask God to reinforce you.”
Meanwhile, our heroes suffered from lack of food. The same Melik Vani, whom Popov calls “The Good Genius of the detachment,” volunteered to get the supplies. The most amazing thing is that the brave Armenian coped with this task superbly; the repeated operation also bore fruit. But the position of the detachment became more and more difficult, especially since Persian troops approached the fortification. Abbas Mirza tried to knock the Russians out of the fortification on the move, but his troops suffered losses and were forced to blockade. Convinced that the Russians were trapped, Abbas Mirza invited them to lay down their arms, but was refused.
From the report of Colonel Karyagin to Prince Tsitsianov dated June 28, 1805: “Lieutenant Zhudkovsky of the Tiflis Musketeer Regiment, who, despite his wound, volunteered as a hunter during the capture of the batteries and acted like a brave officer, and of the 7th Artillery Regiment, Second Lieutenant Gudim-Levkovich, who, when almost all his gunners were wounded, he himself loaded the guns and knocked out the carriage under the enemy cannon.”
Karyagin decides to take an even more incredible step, to break through the hordes of the enemy to the Mukhrat fortress, which is not occupied by the Persians. On July 7 at 22.00 this march began; a deep ravine with steep slopes appeared on the detachment’s route. People and horses could overcome it, but guns? Then Private Gavrila Sidorov jumped to the bottom of the ditch, followed by a dozen more soldiers. The first gun flew to the other side like a bird, the second fell off and the wheel hit Private Sidorov in the temple. Having buried the hero, the detachment continued its march. There are several versions of this episode: “... the detachment continued to move, calmly and unhindered, until the two cannons that were with it were stopped by a small ditch. There was no forest nearby to make a bridge. Four soldiers volunteered to help the cause, crossed themselves, lay down in the ditch, and the guns were transported across them. Two survived, and two paid with their lives for heroic self-sacrifice.”
On July 8, the detachment arrived in Ksapet, from here Karyagin sent forward carts with the wounded under the command of Kotlyarevsky, and he himself followed them. Three versts from Mukhrat the Persians rushed at the column, but were repulsed by fire and bayonets. One of the officers recalled: “... but as soon as Kotlyarevsky managed to move away from us, we were brutally attacked by several thousand Persians, and their onslaught was so strong and sudden that they managed to capture both of our guns. This is no longer a thing at all. Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go ahead, save the guns!” Everyone rushed like lions, and immediately our bayonets opened the road.” Trying to cut off the Russians from the fortress, Abbas Mirza sent a cavalry detachment to capture it, but the Persians failed here too. Kotlyarevsky's disabled team drove back the Persian horsemen. In the evening, Karyagin also came to Mukhrat; according to Bobrovsky, this happened at 12.00.
Having received a report dated July 9, Prince Tsitsianov gathered a detachment of 2371 people with 10 guns and went out to meet Karyagin. On July 15, Prince Tsitsianov’s detachment, having driven the Persians back from the Tertara River, set up camp near the village of Mardagishti. Having learned about this, Karyagin leaves Mukhrat at night and goes to join his commander.
Having completed this amazing march, Colonel Karyagin’s detachment attracted the attention of almost 20,000 Persians for three weeks and did not allow them to go into the interior of the country. For this campaign, Colonel Karyagin was awarded a golden sword with the inscription “For bravery.” Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin in service from April 15, 1773 (Smolensk coin company), from September 25, 1775, sergeant of the Voronezh infantry regiment. Since 1783, second lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion (1st battalion of the Caucasian Jaeger Corps). Participant in the assault on Anapa on June 22, 1791, received the rank of major. Chief of the defense of Pambak in 1802. Chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment from May 14, 1803. For the storming of Ganja he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.
Major Kotlyarevsky awarded the order St. Vladimir, 4th degree, surviving officers with the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. Avanes Yuzbashi (melik Vani) was not left without a reward; he was promoted to ensign and received 200 silver rubles as a lifelong pension. The feat of Private Sidorov in 1892, the year of the 250th anniversary of the regiment, was immortalized in a monument erected at the headquarters of the Erivants Manglis.
- Non, je vous préviens que si vous ne me dites pas que nous avons la guerre [...] je ne vous connais plus, vous n"êtes plus mon ami [...] (No, I’m telling you in advance if You won’t tell me that we are at war [...] I don’t know you anymore, you are no longer my friend [...]).”
"So she spoke in July 1805 famous Anna Pavlovna Sherer" 1.
Those who did not stop at the first page of "War and Peace" remember that the war with France - which Prince Vasily Kurakin's interlocutor so longed for - soon really began. The heroic deed of Prince Bagration at Schöngraben, the defeat of the Russians at Austerlitz - three to five months remained before all these events that thundered in the center of Europe.
But even on that day, when Mme Scherer was still dreaming of war, one with the participation of the Russians was already underway. Only in places completely unknown to society - behind the “wall of the Caucasus”, in Karabakh. And the feat accomplished there by the Russians just in June - July 1805, even more impressive than the Schöngraben one, remained unnoticed by Russian society at that time.
The feat is described in the reports of the detachment commander, which are confirmed by an independent source - the memoirs of a participant in the events (as they think, officer Pyotr Ladinsky). And it's still hard to believe what happened...
Beginning of summer 1805. Disposition
TO Russian-Iranian war 1804 - 1813 led to the annexation by Russia of Eastern Georgia in 1801 - a land that Iran (until 1935 called Persia) considered its sphere of influence. The Russians thwarted the Persians' attempt to invade there in 1804, but in the summer of 1805, Shah Feth-Ali again moved troops to Karabakh in order to enter Georgia and clear it of Russians.
The invading army (commanded by Crown Prince Abbas Mirza) numbered about 30 - 40 thousand people. The Russians in Transcaucasia had only a little more than 8000 2 - and then scattered over a large area. It was necessary to protect Georgia both from the Dagestani Lezgins and from the vassals of Iran - the Azerbaijani khans. It was necessary to control the newly annexed khanates - Ganja and Karabakh...
There was no hope for reinforcements: the war with Napoleon was approaching, which meant that Russia would not have free troops.
Russia itself is far away, behind the high mountains. Only a thread of the Georgian Military Road leads there, which will be cut by the “non-peaceful” highlanders at any moment.
You have to rely only on yourself.
And then the commander-in-chief in Georgia, Lieutenant General Prince Pyotr Tsitsianov, sent a detachment of the chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment, Colonel Pavel Karyagin, from Elisavetpol (now Ganja) to Shusha to meet Abbas-Mirza. (The chiefs then actually commanded the regiments.)
There are 493 soldiers and officers in the detachment - a battalion of the 17th Jaeger, a company of the Tiflis Musketeers, and a team of the 7th Artillery Regiment, severely thinned by disease. And two guns 3.
Karyagin must give Tsitsianov the opportunity to gather scattered forces. And for this, having united in Shusha with six more companies of the 17th Jaeger and bringing your army up to a thousand people, delay the Persians.
Either thirty or forty thousand...
Beginning of summer 1805. Personnel
The Russian soldier of that time was not an angel.
He spouted cynical sayings, unceremoniously extorted first one thing or another from the “peasant” at the billet, and stole from the average person everything that was in bad shape. Runaways were common. Of the 475 lower ranks of the Karyagin detachment, 56 4 deserted during the battles - every ninth!
But in the ranks, the soldiers were tightly constrained by discipline, which had been instilled over the years, consistently and harshly. Discipline was reinforced by something that we do not always remember - the desire not to let down comrades 5, which is especially understandable far from Russia.
And strong strength, persistent “soldiership” went into battle.
Karyagin officers - children of small landed nobles or officials who served only the personal nobility - did not end up cadet corps. “He knows how to read and write in Russian” - that’s all their education is. But for that era this was at least enough, and then the school was service in the Caucasus. Where the Russians often operated in small detachments, where the enemy was always outnumbered, and the political situation was always confused, the commander had to never get lost and think with his own head.
The commander of the Jaeger battalion, Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, from a 16-year-old sergeant became a 27-year-old major at this school.
Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin also passed it.
A 54-year-old widower, the son of an officer who served his family as a hereditary nobility, he was apparently born in the Smolensk region, since he began his service in 1773 by joining the Smolensk coin company as a private, guarding the mint in the village of Porechye (now the city of Demidov).
He had no serfs or real estate.
But he served in the Caucasus since 1783, and fought in Georgia back in 1784 - 1787. second lieutenant of the Belarusian Jaeger Battalion 6.
In 1791 he took Anapa from the Turks.
In 1796 he went to Persian campaign.
In 1804, at the age of 52, under stones and arrows, he and his rangers climbed the wall of the Azerbaijani fortress of Ganja.
And like every officer of that time, he knew about himself, first of all, that he was “HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, THE LORD’S servant.”
June 24, 1805. The battle
Most of the journey was left behind when, on the morning of June 24, 1805, across the Shah-Bulakh River, Karyagin’s detachment was attacked by Abbas Mirza’s vanguard. Up to 3,000 horsemen flew at a handful of Russians, first from one side, then from the other.
But a handful is a regular army! Several commands - and now she is already marching in a square formation, in a quadrangle, meeting the enemy with volleys, no matter where he appears. “Spitting” (as the Turks complained in Suvorov’s time) fire, they are marching (and this is a Persian expression) “impregnable moving walls” 7 .
The tops of the walls are black (these are cylindrical hats and caps).
Bottom - white (summer trousers).
The middle is colored. Three walls are light green, with a line of purple collars. These are the rangers of the 17th regiment. The fourth is dark green, with lines of blue collars and light crimson shoulder straps. These are the Tiflis soldiers of captain Tatarintsov. After he was wounded, this front of the square was commanded by a huntsman, Lieutenant Rafail Egulov.
The Persians have matchlock guns from the 16th century. Therefore, on the sides of the square there are chains of huntsmen with threaded fittings. From long distances, they hit the enemy of their choice, while themselves remaining invulnerable.
The left chain is led by Second Lieutenant Prince Semyon Tumanov 1st (Simeon Tumanishvili). On the right is Lieutenant Emelyan Lisenko. From time to time new batches of fittings are sent; they are led by captains Alexey Klyukin and Ivan Parfenov and lieutenant Yakov Kulyabka 2nd.
Three times Karyagin sends part of the rangers to clear the commanders above the heights of the road. This handful of riflemen in loose formation is led towards the Asian crowds by the future “Caucasian Suvorov” - Major Pyotr Kotlyarevsky.
Lieutenant Matvey Pavlenko gallops with orders and reports from him.
So, with battle, the detachment moves for six hours - 14 versts.
In the evening, having reached the Askaran River, Karyagin stops to rest in the Kara-Agach-Baba tract, on a hill, in the middle of a moated Muslim cemetery.
But here the main forces of Abbas Mirza fall on him.
This is from 10 to 15,000 people, and Karyagin has about 300 8 left in service.
However, European quality is again taking precedence over Asian quantity. Three hours later, when all the Persian attacks were repulsed by fire, it turns out that for the entire day the Russians spent an average of only 23 rounds of ammunition per shooter 9!
“For a scientist they give three unscientists, three is not enough for us, give us 6, 6 are not enough for us, give us 10 for one; we will beat them all, we will knock them all down, we will take them to full strength!” 10
These Suvorov words are not jokes, but a formula derived from practice.
27th of June. Bayonet attack
Shusha is 25 versts away, and Karyagin is sure that he would have made his way there. But many horses were killed, there are not enough of them to transport the wounded, and already a third of the detachment is wounded. And the colonel decides to stay in the cemetery until Major Lisanevich with his six companies arrives from Shushi.
The cemetery ditch is supplemented with an earthen rampart. But it does not save from heat, thirst and the cannonballs of small-caliber cannons - falconets, several batteries of which the Persians installed on the surrounding heights. On the evening of June 26, the falconets do not allow us to approach the only stream, and Karyagin organizes a sortie.
“Company, listen to the command: be baptized, forward, with God!” - Captain Klyukin commands. (Until a year ago, he served in a garrison battalion deep in Russia.)
And the rangers, with a bayonet attack, capture four batteries with 15 falconets 11.
But on the 27th the enemy clearly decides to put an end to the detachment. Artillery bombardment and cavalry attacks continue throughout the day. The Russians are already low on ammunition and medicine. Losses are growing, twice shell-shocked Karyagin is wounded in the back. Four times shell-shocked artillery second lieutenant Sidor Gudim-Levkovich, who had 22 of the 23 gunners killed or wounded, 12 himself loads and aims both guns.
But Major Lisanevich is still missing.
He will never dare to leave Shusha without troops...
56 rangers and a musketeer run over to the Persians. And - a case that has not yet been explained, but clearly speaks of the gravity of the situation - the hero of the battle of June 24, Lieutenant Lisenko, goes to the enemy.
And then Karyagin dictates, drawing up another report to Tsitsianov: “In order to save people and guns [...], he made a firm decision to bravely break through the numerous enemy [...] with the intention of taking the fortress on Shakh-Bulakh" 13. It is easier to defend in a fortress.
A squad on the brink of death is about to attack!
But the enemy does not expect this - and this is already the key to success. Especially if the enemy is undisciplined (and therefore impressionable).
“I will report in detail from the captured fortress about the battle with Abbas Mirza,” the colonel ends in a matter-of-fact tone...
July 7. Breakthrough from the Shah-Bulakh fortress
On the night of June 28, the detachment advances to the Shah-Bulakh fortress. There are only enough horses for the seriously wounded; the convoy has to be abandoned. Nevertheless, the Persian cavalry, having discovered the departure of the Russians, again cannot defeat the regular square.
At dawn the fortress appears. There are about 150 Persians there, but they are behind a high stone wall with six towers.
"Forward, forward, with God!" - 14 Karyagin gives his usual command.
The Russian core smashes the gates - and purple collars rush there, behind Major Kotlyarevsky. Two bullets hit the major in the leg, a charge of rifle grapeshot hits the hand, but the rangers are carried away by staff captain Fyodor Vikhlyaev and second lieutenant Astafiy Chichkanev - and Shakh-Bulakh is taken.
And two hours later, the Russians had to repel the assault themselves: Abbas Mirza arrived in time to Shah-Bulakh.
But Persians are not Russians. They are thrown off the walls, and the prince is forced to limit himself to blockading the fortress with part of his forces. By July 1, Karyagins begin to eat grass and horse meat. And late in the evening of July 7, Karyagin secretly begins a breakthrough into a new stronghold - the empty fortress of Mukhrat, which is 30 miles away. The Persians do not notice his departure.
At dawn on July 8, the detachment stops in front of a deep, man-sized ravine. It is too wide to transport guns across.
There is no way around it; there are no trees nearby to build a bridge.
And then, at the initiative of huntsman Gavrila Sidorov, a “living bridge” is built.
The huntsmen huddled at the bottom of the ravine. These are the bridge supports.
Guns are stuck into the bottom with bayonets. These are additional supports.
Other guns are placed on the shoulders of the rangers and on the butts of their guns. This is the bridge deck.
An 8-pound unicorn and a 6-pound cannon are rolled along this flooring.
The first one weighs 524 kilograms. The second could weigh up to 15 tons.
But the “living piles” remain alive.
Except for Gavrila Sidorov.
The wheel that jumped off the flooring hit him in the temple.
July 15. Victory
Abbas-Mirza, finally coming to his senses, gives chase to the cavalry. One part of it rushes towards Mukhrat, but the fortress has already been occupied by Kotlyarevsky’s detachment sent forward on carts. There are only wounded in it, but the Persians’ attempt to break into Mukhrat was repulsed!
Up to 1,500 horsemen attack Karyagin’s main forces. Again, like on June 24, they march, repelling countless attacks with fire. Once again the Persians cannot do anything about the regular army.
And after Karyagin’s occupation of Mukhrat, the Shah’s son resigned himself to fate - leaving only an observation detachment at the fortress.
Karyagin received food from the Armenians, and on July 15 united with Tsitsianov’s troops that finally arrived.
Having detained the enemy until the main forces arrived, he saved Georgia from the Persian invasion. After Tsitsianov’s approach, the Persians were defeated (July 28, near Dzegam) and retreated to their own borders.
Of the 493 Karyagins, 90 died, 58 deserted or were captured, and of the remaining 345, more than half were wounded. Of the 16 (without the traitor Lisenko) officers, only three were not injured or shell-shocked.
Epilogue
Few people were able to endure such labors in Transcaucasia for a long time.
Colonel Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin would be driven to his grave by “yellow fever” already in June 1807.
Major Alexei Ivanovich Klyukin was dismissed in 1808 due to injuries.
Major Rafail Sergeevich Egulov was dismissed in 1811 due to injuries.
Lieutenant General Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky - extracted from under a pile of bodies in the Lenkoran fortress he took - was dismissed in 1813 due to injuries. And for another thirty-eight years, until his death, he will suffer from pain in his crushed jaw.
Major Matvey Alekseevich Pavlenko was dismissed in 1814 due to injuries.
Major Yakov Osipovich Kulyabka was dismissed due to injuries in 1815.
Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Parfenov will be buried in 1816.
Colonel Pyotr Antonovich Ladinsky was dismissed due to illness in 1822.
The 17th Jaeger and Tiflis Musketeer Regiments, after a series of renamings, will become in 1864 the 13th Life Grenadier Erivan and 15th Grenadier Tiflis. Together they would go into the First World War.
And on October 16, 1914, near the Polish city of Suwalki, in an attack that would disrupt the German breakthrough at the junction of two Russian corps, the grenadier of the 9th company of the Erivan regiment Gavrila Sidorov would die. Namesake and namesake of Gavrila Sidorov from the "Living Bridge". A German bullet will hit him right in the heart 17.
Notes
1. Tolstoy L.N. War and Peace // Tolstoy L.N. Collection op. In 20 vols. T. 4. M., 1961. P.7.
2. Bobrovsky P.O. The history of His Majesty's 13th Life Grenadier Erivan Regiment for 250 years. 1642 - 1892. Part 3. Huntsmen (1786 - 1816). St. Petersburg, 1893. S. 220, 221, 226.
3. Ibid. appl. P. 310.
4. Calculated from: Ibid. pp. 226, 227; appl. P. 310.
5. Lieven D. Russia against Napoleon. The fight for Europe. 1807 - 1814. M., 2012. pp. 81-82.
6. See: Bobrovsky P.O. Decree. op. App. pp. 232-233.
7. Ibid. P. 218.
8. Ibid. pp. 224, 226; appl. P. 311.
9. Calculated from: Ibid. App. pp. 310-311.
10. A.V. Suvorov. Documentation. T. III. 1791 - 1798. M., 1952. P. 508.
11. Bobrovsky P.O. Decree. op. P. 226.
12. Calculated from: Ibid. App. pp. 310-311.
13. Quote. by: ibid. P. 227.
14. See: ibid. pp. 229, 233, 238.
15. With a gun carriage. See: Nilus A.A. History of the material part of artillery. T. I. St. Petersburg, 1904. P. 258; Shirokorad A.B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. Mn., 2000. P. 35.
16. Bobrovsky P.O. Decree. op. P. 235; App. pp. 311-312.
17. Life-Erivans in the Great War. Materials for the history of the regiment processed by the regimental historical commission. Paris, 1959. P. 35.
In 1805, the Russian Empire fought with France as part of the Third Coalition, and fought unsuccessfully. France had Napoleon, and we had the Austrians, whose military glory had long since faded, and the British, who never had a normal ground army. Both of them behaved like complete losers, and even the great Kutuzov, with all the power of his genius, could not switch the “Fail after Fail” TV channel. Meanwhile, in the south of Russia, Ideyka appeared among the Persian Baba Khan, who was purring as he read reports about our European defeats. Baba Khan stopped purring and went against Russia again, hoping to pay for the defeats of the previous year, 1804. The moment was chosen extremely well - due to the usual production of the usual drama “A crowd of so-called crooked allies and Russia, which is again trying to save everyone,” St. Petersburg could not send a single extra soldier to the Caucasus, despite the fact that there were from 8,000 to 10,000 soldiers. Therefore, having learned that 40,000 Persian troops under the command of Crown Prince Abbas-Mirza are coming to the city of Shusha (this is in today's Nagorno-Karabakh. You know Azerbaijan, right? Bottom left), where Major Lisanevich was located with 6 companies of rangers. that he was moving on a huge golden platform, with a bunch of freaks, freaks and concubines on golden chains, just like Xerxes), Prince Tsitsianov sent all the help he could send. All 493 soldiers and officers with two guns, the superhero Karyagin, the superhero Kotlyarevsky (about whom another story) and Russian military spirit.
They did not have time to reach Shushi, the Persians intercepted ours on the road, near the Shah-Bulakh River, on June 24. Persian avant-garde. A modest 10,000 people. Without being at all taken aback (at that time in the Caucasus, battles with less than a tenfold superiority of the enemy were not considered battles and were officially reported in reports as “exercises in conditions close to combat”), Karyagin formed an army in a square and spent the whole day repelling the fruitless attacks of the Persian cavalry , until only scraps remained of the Persians. Then he walked another 14 miles and set up a fortified camp, the so-called Wagenburg or, in Russian, a walk-city, when the line of defense is built from baggage carts (given the Caucasian impassability and the lack of a supply network, the troops had to carry significant supplies with them). The Persians continued their attacks in the evening and fruitlessly stormed the camp until nightfall, after which they took a forced break to clear the piles of Persian bodies, funerals, weeping and writing cards to the families of the victims. By the morning, having read the manual "Military Art for Dummies" sent by express mail ("If the enemy has strengthened and this enemy is Russian, do not try to attack him head-on, even if there are 40,000 of you and 400 of him"), the Persians began to bombard our walk - the city with artillery, trying to prevent our troops from reaching the river and replenishing water supplies. The Russians responded by making a sortie, making their way to the Persian battery and blowing it to hell, throwing the remains of the cannons into the river, presumably with malicious obscene inscriptions. However, this did not save the situation. After fighting for another day, Karyagin began to suspect that he would not be able to kill the entire Persian army with 300 Russians. In addition, problems began inside the camp - Lieutenant Lisenko and six more traitors ran over to the Persians, the next day they were joined by 19 more hippies - thus, our losses from cowardly pacifists began to exceed losses from inept Persian attacks. Thirst, again. Heat. Bullets. And 40,000 Persians around. Uncomfortable.
At the officers' council, two options were proposed: or we all stay here and die, who's in favor? No one. Or we get together, break through the Persian ring of encirclement, after which we STORM a nearby fortress while the Persians are catching up with us, and we are already sitting in the fortress. It 'warm over there. Fine. And flies don't bite. The only problem is that we are no longer even 300 Russian Spartans, but around 200, and there are still tens of thousands of them and they are guarding us, and all this will be like the game Left 4 Dead, where a tiny squad of survivors is surrounded by crowds of brutal zombies. . Everyone loved Left 4 Dead already in 1805, so they decided to break through. At night. Having cut off the Persian sentries and trying not to breathe, the Russian participants in the “Staying Alive When You Can’t Stay Alive” program almost escaped the encirclement, but stumbled upon a Persian patrol. A chase began, a shootout, then a chase again, then ours finally broke away from the Mahmuds in the dark, dark Caucasian forest and went to the fortress, named after the nearby river Shah-Bulakh. By that time, the golden aura of the end was shining around the remaining participants in the crazy “Fight as long as you can” marathon (let me remind you that it was already the FOURTH day of continuous battles, sorties, duels with bayonets and night hide-and-seeks in the forests), so Karyagin simply smashed the gates of Shah-Bulakh with a cannon core, after which he tiredly asked the small Persian garrison: “Guys, look at us. Do you really want to try? Really?” The guys took the hint and ran away. During the run-up, two khans were killed, the Russians barely had time to repair the gates when the main Persian forces appeared, concerned about the disappearance of their beloved Russian detachment. But this was not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. After taking inventory of the property remaining in the fortress, it turned out that there was no food. And that the food train had to be abandoned during the breakout from the encirclement, so there was nothing to eat. At all. At all. At all. Karyagin again went out to the troops:
Friends, I know that this is not madness, not Sparta, or anything for which human words were invented. Of the already pitiful 493 people, 175 of us remained, almost all of them were wounded, dehydrated, exhausted, and extremely tired. There is no food. There is no convoy. Cannonballs and cartridges are running out. And besides, right in front of our gates sits the heir to the Persian throne, Abbas Mirza, who has already tried to take us by storm several times. Do you hear the grunting of his tame monsters and the laughter of his concubines? He is the one waiting for us to die, hoping that hunger will do what 40,000 Persians could not do. But we won't die. You won't die. I, Colonel Karyagin, forbid you to die. I order you to have all the nerve you have, because this night we are leaving the fortress and breaking through to ANOTHER FORTRESS, WHICH WE WILL STORM AGAIN, WITH THE ENTIRE PERSIAN ARMY ON YOUR SHOULDERS. And also freaks and concubines. This is not a Hollywood action movie. This is not an epic. This is Russian history, little birds, and you are its main characters. Place sentries on the walls who will call to each other all night, creating the feeling that we are in a fortress. We'll head out as soon as it gets dark enough!
It is said that there was once an angel in Heaven who was in charge of monitoring the impossibility. On July 7 at 10 p.m., when Karyagin set out from the fortress to storm the next, even larger fortress, this angel died of bewilderment. It is important to understand that by July 7, the detachment had been fighting continuously for the 13th day and was not so much in the state of “the Terminators are coming”, but rather in the state of “extremely desperate people, using only anger and fortitude, are moving into the Heart of Darkness of this insane, impossible, incredible, unthinkable journey." With guns, with carts of wounded, it was not a walk with backpacks, but a large and heavy movement. Karyagin slipped out of the fortress like a night ghost, like a bat, like a creature from That Forbidden Side - and therefore even the soldiers who remained calling to each other on the walls managed to escape from the Persians and catch up with the detachment, although they were already preparing to die, realizing the absolute mortality of their task. But the Peak of Madness, Courage and Spirit was still ahead.
A detachment of Russian... soldiers moving through darkness, darkness, pain, hunger and thirst? Ghosts? Saints of War? faced a ditch through which it was impossible to transport cannons, and without cannons, an assault on the next, even better fortified fortress of Mukhrata, had neither meaning nor chance. There was no forest nearby to fill the ditch, and there was no time to look for forest - the Persians could overtake them at any moment. Four Russian soldiers - one of them was Gavrila Sidorov, the names of the others, unfortunately, I could not find - silently jumped into the ditch. And they lay down. Like logs. No bravado, no talking, no anything. They jumped down and lay down. The heavy guns drove straight at them. Under the crunch of bones. Barely restrained groans of pain. Even more crunch. A dry and loud crack, like a rifle shot. Red spray splashed onto the dirty heavy cannon carriage. Russian red.
Franz Roubaud, "The Living Bridge", 1892. (click to enlarge)
Only two rose from the ditch. Silently.
On July 8, the detachment entered Kasapet, ate and drank normally for the first time in many days, and moved on to the Muhrat fortress. Three miles away, a detachment of just over a hundred people was attacked by several thousand Persian horsemen, who managed to break through to the cannons and capture them. In vain. As one of the officers recalled: “Karyagin shouted: “Guys, go ahead, go save the guns!” Everyone rushed like lions..." Apparently, the soldiers remembered at WHAT price they got these guns. Red again splashed onto the carriages, this time Persian, and it splashed, and poured, and flooded the carriages, and the ground around the carriages, and carts, and uniforms, and guns, and sabers, and it poured, and it poured, and it poured until until the Persians fled in panic, unable to break the resistance of hundreds of ours. Hundreds of Russians. Hundreds of Russians, Russians just like you, who now despise their people, their Russian name, the Russian nation and Russian history, and allow themselves to silently watch how the power rots and falls apart, created by such a feat, such superhuman effort, such pain and such courage. Lying down in a ditch of apathetic pleasures, so that the guns of hedonism, entertainment and cowardice walk and walk over you, crushing your fragile, timid skulls with their wheels of laughing abomination.
Mukhrat was taken easily, and the next day, July 9, Prince Tsitsianov, having received a report from Karyagin, immediately set out to meet to the Persian army with 2300 soldiers and 10 guns. On July 15, Tsitsianov defeated and drove out the Persians, and then united with the remnants of Colonel Karyagin’s troops.
Karyagin received a golden sword for this campaign, all the officers and soldiers received awards and salaries, Gavrila Sidorov silently lay down in the ditch - a monument at the regiment headquarters, and we all learned a lesson. Ditch lesson. A lesson in silence. Crunch lesson. Red lesson. And the next time you are required to do something in the name of Russia and your comrades, and your heart is overcome by apathy and the petty nasty fear of a typical child of Russia in the era of Kali Yuga, actions, upheavals, struggle, life, death, then remember this ditch.
Remember Gavrila.
Ace Ventura – Will
