Denis Davydov

Pushkin’s ironic remark about D.V. Davydov is known: “The military is sure that he is an excellent writer, and the writers think about him that he is an excellent general.” However, these words should still be considered a friendly joke: usually the poet spoke with unwavering respect both about Davydov’s exploits on the battlefields and about his merits in the literary field. And Pushkin, like his other contemporaries, saw one of the indisputable proofs that Denis Vasilyevich was equally proficient with both the saber and the pen in the book “An Experience in the Theory of Guerrilla Action.”

Denis Davydov knew the theory and practice of military art firsthand. He grew up in a family of a professional military man: his father, Brigadier Vasily Denisovich Davydov, served under the command of the great Suvorov. In his autobiography, written in the third person, Denis Vasilyevich spoke about it this way: “Davydov, like all children, from his infancy had a passion for marching, throwing a gun, etc. This passion received its highest direction in 1793 from the unexpected attention to him of Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, who, while inspecting the Poltava Light Horse Regiment, which was then under the command of Davydov’s parent, noticed a playful child and, blessing him, said: "You will win three battles!" The little rake threw down the psalter, waved his saber, gouged out the uncle’s eye, pierced the nanny’s head and cut off the tail of a greyhound dog, thinking thereby to fulfill the great man’s prophecy. The rod turned him to peace and to learning.”

In 1801, Davydov became an estandard cadet of the privileged Guards Cavalry Regiment. However, the successful start to his military career soon turned out to be overshadowed by a transfer with loss of rank to Ukraine, to the Belarusian Hussar Regiment stationed there. The reason for this was the young man’s passion for poetry and, in particular, the genre of satirical fable. Many years later, when the worries due to unexpected disgrace were left behind, Davydov, not without hussar daring, outlined his version of what happened: “Meanwhile, he did not stop talking with the muses: he called them during his duty in the barracks, in hospital and even to the squadron stable. He often wrote satires and epigrams on a soldier’s bunk, on a sick table, on the floor of an empty stall, where he chose his lair, with which he began his limited verbal career. In 1804, fate, which controls people, or people who direct it with blows, forced our rake to join the Belarusian Hussar Regiment, then located in the Kiev province, in the vicinity of Zvenigorodka.

The young hussar captain twirled his mustache, shook his shako in his ear, took a drag, stretched himself, and began to dance the mazurka until he dropped.” It was there, in Little Russia, that the first hussar poems and songs were written, which would soon make Davydov famous:

Let's hit the cup together!
Today it’s still too late to drink;
Tomorrow the trumpets will sound,
Tomorrow there will be thunder.
Let's drink and swear
That we indulge in a curse,
If we ever
Let's give way, turn pale,
Let's pity our breasts
And in misfortune we become timid;
If we ever give
Left side on the flank,
Or we'll rein in the horse
Or a cute little cheat
Let's give our hearts for free!..

In 1806, Davydov, transferred to the Life Hussar Regiment as a lieutenant, returned to St. Petersburg. From 1807 to 1812, as an adjutant of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, he accompanied him to Prussia, Finland and Turkey. An anecdote from those campaigns was preserved, recorded by Pushkin in “Table-Talk”: “Denis Davydov once appeared in the vanguard to Prince Bagration and said: “The Commander-in-Chief ordered to report to Your Excellency that the enemy is on our nose, and asks you to immediately retreat.” . Bagration answered: “The enemy is on our nose? On whose nose? If it’s on your nose, then it’s close, but if it’s on mine, we’ll still have time to dine.” Thanks to Bagration’s patronage, in the spring of 1812 Davydov was appointed to the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment.

Having walked with the Russian army from the western border to the village of Borodino - his father’s estate in which he grew up - five days before the battle, which made the name of the Davydov family nest known throughout Europe, Denis Vasilyevich turned to Prince Bagration with a request to be appointed commander of the cavalry. a Riyan detachment aimed at operating behind enemy lines. Subsequently, he spoke in detail about how this happened: “Seeing myself useful to the Fatherland no more than an ordinary hussar, I decided to ask for a separate command, despite the words uttered and extolled by mediocrity: not to ask anywhere and not what not to refuse. On the contrary, I have always been sure that in our craft he is only fulfilling his duty, who oversteps his bounds, does not stand in spirit like shoulders in a line with his comrades, asks for everything and refuses nothing. With these thoughts, I sent a letter to Prince Bagration with the following content: “Your Excellency! You know that I, having left the place of your adjutant, so flattering for my pride, and having joined the hussar regiment, had as a subject partisan service and according to the strength of my years , and by experience, and, if I dare say, by my courage. Circumstances lead me to this day in the ranks of my comrades, where I do not have my own will and, therefore, I can neither undertake nor accomplish anything remarkable. You are my only benefactor! Let me come to you to explain my intentions. If they please you, use me according to my wishes and rest assured that the one who has held the title of Bagration’s adjutant for five years in a row will uphold this honor. with all the zeal that the plight of our dear Fatherland requires." On the twenty-first of August the prince called me to his place. Presenting myself to him, I explained to him the benefits of the Partisan war under the circumstances of that time... The prince interrupted the immodest flight of my imagination. He shook my hand and said: “Today I will go to the Most Serene One and tell him your thoughts.”

To begin with, Davydov was allocated 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks. However, already at the very beginning of the journey, the detachment almost died, falling into a peasant ambush. Denis Vasilyevich explained the reasons for what happened: “How many times did I ask the residents after the conclusion of peace between us: “Why did you think we were French?” Each time they answered me: “Look, darling (pointing to my hussar’s cap), this, they say, is similar to their clothes.” - “Don’t I speak Russian?” - “But they have all sorts of people!” Then I learned from experience that in the People's War one must not only speak the language of the mob, but adapt to it both in customs and in clothing. I put on a man’s caftan, began to grow a beard, instead of the Order of St. Anne I hung an image of St. Nicholas and spoke to them in the language of the people.”

Having secured the support of the local population and increasing his detachment at the expense of the peasants, Davydov successfully operated in the rear of the French troops. In the list of his successful partisan raids one can find daring raids on small enemy garrisons, the destruction of foraging detachments, and large military operations against regular units of the Great Army. So, in Tsarevoye Zaimishche he captured 119 soldiers and officers, 10 food trucks and a truck with ammunition. At Vyazma, his detachment forced 370 soldiers and 2 officers to lay down their arms and recaptured 200 Russian prisoners. Near Lyakhov, Davydov’s partisans took part in the operation to destroy General Augereau’s two-thousand-strong detachment. Finally, already in December, having reached the Neman, where six months earlier the Napoleonic army began its campaign against Russia, Davydov occupied the provincial city of Grodno. A. I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, who had at his disposal materials from the Davydov archive, says that in Grodno Denis Vasilyevich forced the local priest, who glorified Napoleon more than others, to give a speech in which he was forced curse the French, while praising Emperor Alexander I, Prince M.I. Kutuzov and the entire Russian people. For the 1812 campaign, Denis Vasilyevich was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, and St. George, 4th degree.

At the beginning of the Foreign Campaign, Dava-dov’s detachment was assigned to the corps of General F. F. Wintzingerode. Deprived of his usual independence, forced to obey someone else’s will, Denis Vasilyevich reluctantly recalled that time: “Here fortune turns back on him: Davydov appears before the face of General Wintzingerode and comes under his command. With him he creeps through Poland, Silesia and enters Saxony. No more patience! Davydov rushed forward and occupied half of the city of Dresden, defended by the corps of Marshal Davout. For such insolence, he was deprived of his command and exiled to the Main Apartment. The justice of the patron king was the shield of the unprotected. Davydov again appears in the field stolen from him, in which he continues to act until the banks of the Rhine. In France, he commands the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment in Blucher's army. After the Battle of Craon, in which all the generals of the 2nd Hussar Division were killed or wounded, he controls the entire division for two days, and then a brigade made up of hussar regiments - the same Akhtyrsky and Belorussky, with which he passes through Paris . For his distinction in the battle of Brien (Larotier) he was promoted to major general. In 1814, Davydov returned from Paris to Moscow, where he devoted himself exclusively to poetry and composed several elegies.”

However, after two years of peaceful life, Denis Vasilyevich decided to turn again to the recent military past and began work on a major essay on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare. A modern historian of Russian books of Pushkin’s time, O. V. Asnina, in the article ““The Experience of the Theory of Partisan Action” by Denis Davydov in the Library of A. P. Ermolov” (published in the collection: Manuscripts. Rare Editions. Archives: From the collections of the Moscow University Library Moscow, 1997) described in detail the history of the creation and publication of this remarkable work in many respects. Asnina says: “Davydov began work on the “Experience on Partisans” - that’s what this research was originally called - back in 1816 and did not stop throughout his life. He repeatedly turned to friends and acquaintances, asking them to express their comments, and constantly made changes regarding both the content of the book and its style. At the beginning of 1819, Davydov sent the manuscript of the “Experience on Partisans” to P. M. Volkonsky to present it to the emperor, but did not receive a response, which worried him very much. In one of his letters (dated May 18, 1819), he complained to A. A. Zakrevsky: “If our brothers are encouraged like this, then much will not be learned! By the way, I assure you without the slightest boasting that no one has ever written about the use of light troops, as I wrote in the “Experience” you know...” Trying to bring his work to the attention of the emperor, Davydov again wrote to P. M. Volkonsky , tried to act through I. I. Dibich, A. A. Zakrevsky, I. V. Vasilchikov, but, despite all efforts, the journey of the manuscript of “Experience” in the bowels of the General Staff office lasted more than two years. .. P. M. Volkonsky ordered the Military Scientific Committee at the General Staff to consider “Experience”. Later, at the beginning of 1822, the Committee discussed Davydov’s work and came to the conclusion that “this book contains a lot of good things and is useful for disseminating information regarding a small war. Moreover, the author did not give out a system, on one speculation based, but wrote what he himself saw from experience, being among the partisans who distinguished themselves so much in the unforgettable war of 1812 for Russia.” Meanwhile, without waiting for the imperial favor, Davydov began to bother about publishing his work. “I’m very glad that they gave me a free hand, I’m giving it to the press and not presenting it to anyone,” Davydov exclaimed with resentment about the essay, which “although not as useful as the discussion about the edging on shoulder straps and the color of lanyards, but just as non-empty as our great transformers think of it! “...In the end, the book appeared in Moscow, in the printing house of S.I. Selivanovsky, known for its excellent editions of scientific and fiction literature.”

O. V. Asnina established that Davydov, who was not afraid of either a saber or a bullet, behaved extremely carefully in the case of “An Experience in the Theory of Guerrilla Action.” Having released the book, he sent several copies to close friends, waited for their responses and, having learned that, in their opinion, some of his judgments, assessments and characteristics were too harsh, he ordered the entire circulation to be destroyed, made the necessary corrections to the text and reprinted “Experience” again. The interval between the appearance of the first and second editions was about seven months: three or four copies of the book with censorship permission dated April 4, 1821 and well-known volumes of “Experience” with censorship permission dated October 31 of the same year have survived.

In mid-January 1822, the newspaper “Russian Invalid” (No. 11) notified its readers about the appearance of a new book by the famous Denis Davydov: “We congratulate our compatriots and especially military people on this classic original Russian book! Until now, Denis Vasilyevich Davydov was known to us as a writer of war songs, love and comic poems, as a shrewd leader of a detachment of daring riders. Now he appears as a subtle observer who has comprehended the military matter, who has discovered in it much that was hitherto secret, uncertain, and as a thoughtful writer who has outlined the theory of partisan action, if not more learnedly and eloquently than the famous tactician [Antoine-Henri] Jomini, then at least it’s clearer and shorter.”

Regarding the role of the partisan movement in the Patriotic War, Davydov wrote: “The terrible era of 1812, marked by such extraordinary events, caused a change in the main part of military art in Russia... and partisan war became part of the plans for the general action of the armies . During the invasion of Russia and after the separation of our two armies, Napoleon took the direct route to Smolensk, trying to prevent their union. When, despite his efforts, our armies united near Smolensk, then he followed us to Moscow and, upon entering it, allowed Prince Kutuzov, almost in his own eyes, to make a saving transition to Tarutin. With the occupation of Tarutin, our southern provinces were closed, and the enemy’s message was accidentally suppressed. This is where the partisans begin to appear. Having calmed down about the party sent from Borodin to Vyazma to test the usefulness of the raids, His Serene Highness only under Tarutin divided most of the Cossack army into detachments and moved them in different directions onto the enemy’s communication route. The time spent materially and morally strengthening the army in this position was not wasted by the partisans: for about six weeks in a row, the French communication through Mozhaisk, Vyazma and Smolensk was blocked by their continuous raids. Never since the beginning of the war has there been such a large number of prisoners in our camp as during this era. It seemed that the courage and activity of the partisans multiplied as precautions increased in the enemy troops, almost besieged by parties and armed villagers. Figner scoured between the enemy's vanguard and his main army, extending his bloody search to the outposts of the capital. The tireless Seslavin defeated the enemy from Fominsky and was the only informer about the movement of the French army to Maloyaroslavets, whose occupation she avoided from all the misfortunes that subsequently befell her. Kudashev watched the enemy’s movement along the Tula road, which was dangerous for us due to the encroachment of enemy parties on the food route of our army and on the Tula arms factory. He blocked the way for supplies to be delivered to the enemy’s vanguard and often broke through to the main apartment of the King of Naples... Chernyshev, having trembled the nest of our enemies - Warsaw, flew across the entire enemy base from the Duchy of Warsaw to Polotsk with news of the movement of the Danube Army to the banks of the Berezina. Other partisans destroyed the enemy’s transports and detachments, inflicted the most severe blows on him, and all together, preceding the French army and surrounding it during the retreat from Moscow to the banks of the Neman, they fought day and night, blocked crossings, filled up gorges and continuously worries stole the rest so necessary for the army, exhausted by hunger, cold and intense marches.”

In his book, Davydov, based on the experience of the partisans of the Patriotic War, tried to develop a coherent procedure for the actions of the “parties”, determined the necessary qualities of the commanders and the nature of their orders during offensive and defensive actions. In conclusion, he noted: “If the hardships of our army do not increase, if the excellent order of the internal management of its linear part continues, if the severity is doubled so that the irregular regiments represent more people in person than during porridge and duty, which will almost double the number of this army, if they form defensive parties from the Bashkir, Kalmyk and Tatar regiments and arrange internal defense of the food route, if, leaving with the army a sufficient number of Don, Black Sea and Ural regiments to maintain its outposts, the others, dividing into parties, will use message from the enemy with a special distance assigned to each partisan, then I dare to say that no attempts by opposing parties can be effective against our message, and we, with the help of the large number and mobility of our irregular cavalry, will be able to not only cover the rear and in front of one’s own army, but to deliver decisive blows to the enemy even without general battles.”

“The Experience of the Theory of Guerrilla Action” attracted the attention of his contemporaries. A. S. Pushkin dedicated a poem to him:

Recently I was in the hours of freedom
Read the rider's charter
And I even understood clearly
His skillful arguments;
I recognized the sharp features
Inimitable syllable;
But he turned over the sheets
And - I confess - I grumbled at God.
I thought: windy singer,
Do not make yourself an idol,
Finally lost my temper
Your mischievous lyre,
And, my heart cooling forever,
You, apparently, became for the sake of peace
Prudent man!
Oh grief, I said through tears,
Who gave Davydov advice?
Leave the laurel, leave the roses?
How could I stoop to prose?
The poet crowned by the muse,
Having despised the glory of previous years,
And Burtsova’s soul is a threat!
And suddenly a disheveled shadow
I see right in front of me:
Drunk as on the very day of death,
A column of mustaches, a mountain of whiskey,
Cruel mentality behind your back
And the miracle shako is askew.

Davydov received favorable reviews of the book from many participants in the Patriotic War. The partisan movement in Russia in 1812 aroused genuine interest in Europe. In particular, Walter Scott, while working on “The Life of Bonaparte,” turned to Denis Vasilyevich with a request: “I would very much like to know the details of the partisan war, which was waged with such desperate courage and tireless perseverance during the Moscow campaign.” . In response, Davydov sent the writer a copy of “An Experience in the Theory of Guerrilla Action.”

It is noteworthy that Davydov’s work, which has become a classic for Russian literature, has not lost its significance from a theoretical point of view over the years. Thus, in the book “Notes of a Saboteur,” written by the famous partisan of World War II Ilya Grigoryevich Starinov (1900-2000), Davydov’s definition of the concept “partisan war” is highly appreciated: “Guerilla warfare consists of not very fractional, nor in primary enterprises, because he is not engaged in burning one or two barns, not disrupting pickets, and not inflicting direct attacks on the main forces of the enemy. It embraces and crosses the entire length of the routes from the rear of the opposing army to that expanse of land that is designated to supply it with troops, food and ammunition. Through this, blocking the flow of the source of her strength and existence, she exposes her to the blows of her army, exhausted, hungry, disarmed and deprived of the saving bonds of subordination. This is guerrilla warfare in the full sense of the word.”

“This definition,” wrote I. G. Starinov, “remains true... even in modern wars without the use of means of mass destruction.”

After the overthrow of Napoleon, Davydov had to take up arms more than once, but now he fought only as part of the regular army: in 1827 he participated in the Persian campaign, in 1831 he suppressed the Polish uprising. After that, while in the service, he lived with family concerns. A few years before his death, he tried to sum up his life and draw a portrait of himself: “Having wandered and fought for thirty years with people who devoted themselves exclusively to military craft, at the same time he occupies not the last place in literature among people, devoting themselves exclusively to literature. Seized by the age of Napoleon, which spewed out all-destructive events like Vesuvius with lava, he sang in their fervor. Peace and tranquility - and there is no rumor about Davydov, it’s as if he is not in the world; but there will be a whiff of war - and he is already here, sticking out among the battles, like a Cossack pike. Peace again - and Davydov is again in his steppes, again a citizen, a family man, a plowman, a hunter, a poet, an admirer of beauty in all its branches - in a young maiden, in works of art, in exploits, military or civil, in literature - everywhere is her servant, everywhere is her slave, her poet. Here is Davydov!”

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Boltyshev Viktor Nikolaevich. Davydov in the battle near Saltanovka. 1812

“Our mother Russia is huge! Will not everything that is encountered, living and inanimate, along the wide path of the hurricane... of our army, the first in the world in its courage, discipline and organization, be destroyed, scattered, or swept away into dust from the face of the earth?
Russia has not yet risen to its full gigantic height, and woe to its enemies if it ever rises!”

Denis Davydov

Denis Vasilyevich Davydov, the famous partisan poet, was born on July 16, 1784 in the family of foreman Vasily Denisovich Davydov, who served under the command of A.V. Suvorov. The most vivid impression of childhood was a meeting with the legendary commander, who prophesied to the boy: “This will be a military man...”. The parents gave their son an excellent education at home. With the help of his father, he early became involved in military affairs and brilliantly mastered horse riding. But he suffered because he was short, snub-nosed, and ugly. At the age of 17, he already served as a cadet in the Cavalry Guard Regiment, and a year later received the rank of cornet. The officers fell in love with the wit, modesty and charming personality of this small military man. Since 1807, Davydov was appointed adjutant of Prince Bagration. Together with him he took part in battles with the French, Swedes, and Turks, showing himself to be a desperately brave warrior. By the beginning of the war of 1812, he was already a lieutenant colonel of the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment, which was in the vanguard of General Vasilchikov’s troops.
A few days before the Battle of Borodino, watching how soldiers dismantled his father’s house in the village of Borodino, where he spent his childhood, into fortifications, Davydov expressed the idea of ​​​​the advisability of partisan actions behind enemy lines. He borrowed this idea from the Spanish partisans (Guerillas), whom Napoleon could not defeat until they united into a regular army. Davydov submitted a report to Bagration with a request to provide him with people to create a partisan detachment. He received 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks under his command and was the first to use partisan methods in the fight against the enemy.

It was Davydov’s successes in partisan warfare that convinced Kutuzov that the people could beat the enemy in his deep rear, and the commander gave it wider development. Davydov’s outstanding feat was the battle near the village of Lyakhov, when he captured 2,000 soldiers from General Augereau’s detachment. The successful actions of the detachment under the command of Denis Davydov led to his liberation of the city of Grodno, for which he was promoted to colonel. It is known that Napoleon hated Davydov fiercely and ordered him to be shot on the spot upon his arrest. The Emperor allocated a special detachment of 2,000 horsemen with 8 chief officers and 1 staff officer to capture the first partisan. However, Davydov with his thousand-strong detachment lured the French into a trap and captured all the officers.

Davydov fought no less successfully after the Russian army crossed the border, distinguishing himself in almost all the battles in which he took part. So, with an advance detachment, he occupied the city of Dresden and was put under house arrest for this, as he acted without orders. All of Europe created legends about the brave partisan, and residents of cities occupied by Russian troops took to the streets to see Davydov. In 1815, he was awarded the rank of major general for the battle near Paris, where 5 horses were killed near Davydov, but he still broke through to the French battery and chopped up the servants, deciding the outcome of the battle. He had to fight later - in 1827 he successfully fought the Persians, and in 1831 he suppressed the uprisings of Polish rebels. In the same year he received the rank of lieutenant general, and a year later he received conditional retirement, remaining in service until his death in 1839.

D.V. Davydov. Colored engraving by M. Dubourg based on the original by A. Orlovsky. 1814

Davydov described his military adventures in his memoirs “Diary of Partisan Searches of 1812” and “Military Notes”, and left memories of A.V. Suvorov, N.N. Raevsky, M. Kamensky. But his main work is the unique book “An Experience in the Theory of Guerrilla Action,” which was published in 1827. It entered the Russian military as the first study of the theory of “small war”, created by a Russian author on Russian material.
Davydov was the first to note that by the beginning of the 19th century, European armies had become numerous and complex in structure, but vulnerable in the rear. And Russia may well make guerrilla warfare the main state defense policy, because it has two factors that give it an advantage over European countries. These factors are the presence of “true” light cavalry - the Cossacks (the Cossacks combined the military art of the East and the West, possessing high fighting qualities) and the vastness of the territory, which makes it possible to retreat, evading enemy attacks, as in 1812. For the convenience of managing partisan detachments, Davydov proposed dividing them into three categories. First-class units conduct combat operations in the rear of the enemy army, second-class units operate on enemy communications, and third-class units conduct searches on the supply lines of enemy troops. “Emergency” parties of partisans are also being formed as an operational reserve. The main tactical action of the partisans, Davydov noted, should be a surprise attack from an ambush. In addition, Davydov also considered important the choice of a partisan commander, whose role in a partisan war is much more responsible than the role of an ordinary officer. Davydov's book is still in demand by interested readers.

In his personal life, Davydov was just as lucky as in military affairs. He dearly loved his wife Sofya Nikolaevna, who bore him 9 children. In the last years of his life, the partisan poet was an exemplary family man, striving everywhere for his wife and children. He carried on an extensive correspondence, had a huge number of friends, was close to Pushkin, connected with many Decembrists who valued his political poems, but refused to join the secret society. In the history of Russian literature, Davydov is the creator of “hussar lyrics”, the hero of which is a young military man who loves riotous revelry, love adventures, a daring life and at the same time an opponent of violence against the individual, a free-thinking person.

Demakov Evgeny Alexandrovich. Poet, hussar and partisan Denis Davydov in the circle of fellow soldiers

Everyone who knew this man noted his constant “youth of heart and morals”, his cheerful character, infecting those around him, he was always the soul of friendly meetings.

Denis Vasilyevich Davydov remained in the memory of the Russian people as a Hero of the Patriotic War, an original author of military notes, a talented poet who enjoyed fame and attention during his life and was not forgotten after death. It is impossible not to note one more merit of Davydov to Russia. It was on his initiative that the ashes of Prince Bagration were reburied on the Borodino field. And on the centenary of the Patriotic War on August 26, 1912, the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment was named after Denis Davydov.

Prepared based on materials:
http://www.bratishka.ru/archiv/2008/6/2008_6_13.php
http://www.denisdavydov.org.ru/
http://www.raruss.ru/lifetime-editions/page03/1016-davydov-first.html

“For us Russians, guerrilla warfare will always be extremely necessary and useful,” wrote Denis Davydov. The most famous hussar in Russia tried to convince his contemporaries that it was he who developed the methods of guerrilla warfare, was the first to apply them comprehensively and became the best partisan in the Patriotic War of 1812. Can you believe this? What was the military path of the famous poet and his role in the Russian partisan movement of 1812?

“Born for royal service”

Denis Davydov was destined to become a military man. His father was an associate of Suvorov, Nikolai Raevsky and Alexei Ermolov were his relatives, and he spent his childhood on the Borodino estate, next to which the main battle of the Patriotic War would take place in 1812. Born in 1784, Denis Davydov absorbed the military spirit from childhood and prepared to become an officer.

However, there were many obstacles on the way of young Davydov, the main ones being his poverty and freethinking. In 1801, he joined the ranks of the prestigious Cavalry Regiment, but found it difficult to maintain the lavish lifestyle of a capital officer. In addition, the authorities disliked the young cornet for his satirical poems, in which the young man ridiculed influential people. For these two reasons, Davydov did not stay in St. Petersburg and was transferred out of sight to the Belarusian Hussar Regiment, stationed in Zvenigorodka, Kyiv province. From then on, his reputation as a freethinker followed him until the end of his life.

Denis Davydov. Artist – J. Doe
Source – dic.academic.ru

The vicissitudes of the transfer to a new duty station prevented the young officer from taking part in the Austerlitz campaign of 1805, in which his former fellow cavalry guards distinguished themselves. Only in 1807 did he have the opportunity to smell gunpowder. Thanks to the support of influential persons at court, Davydov managed to obtain the position of adjutant under Lieutenant General Pyotr Bagration. During the fighting against the French, the impetuous adjutant initiated several skirmishes with the enemy - more curious than successful. The Swedish campaign of 1808 became a real partisan school for Davydov, during which he ended up in the detachment of Colonel Yakov Kulnev, a famous hussar, whom Napoleon himself called the best Russian cavalry commander. With Kulnev, Davydov took an “outpost service course”: he was engaged in reconnaissance, pickets, patrols, and vanguard contacts. In wooded Finland, both the Swedes and the Russians had to act in small units and fight like a guerrilla. Mastering the wisdom of guerrilla warfare in practice, Davydov turned into an experienced cavalry commander.

"The War I Was the Creator"

Denis Davydov tried to convince everyone that it was he who developed the methods of guerrilla warfare, proposed its use, and was the best partisan in the Russian army. However, all of these statements are most likely false. A short excursion into the history of partisan warfare will help to better understand Davydov’s place in the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare.

In the 18th–19th centuries, the word “partisans” meant professional soldiers who participated in the so-called “small war” - skirmishes, raids on convoys, reconnaissance, and so on. The Austrians and Russians were the first to use “small war” methods. Among the subjects of the Habsburgs and Romanovs there were many people who were accustomed to waging war “in a non-European way.” In the first case, we were talking about Hungarians, Romanians, Serbs and Croats, and in the second, about Cossacks. During the First Silesian War of 1740–1742, the Prussian king Frederick the Great was given a lot of trouble by the elusive Hungarian hussars and Croatian pandurs who ruled in his rear. The Great Powers hastened to copy this Austrian discovery. In the atmosphere of the emerging philosophy of the Enlightenment with its sympathies for the image noble savage(noble savage) to be a hussar became a very attractive fate, and the sons of the best European families began to grow mustaches and dress up as “barbarians.” It is no coincidence that we see jackets of the Hungarian style, luxuriously embroidered with cords, on the Russian hussars of 1812 - including on Denis Davydov.

General Nadasty's Hungarian hussars attack the Prussian camp during the Battle of Soor. Artist – D. Morier
Source – britishbattles.com

In 1756, a treatise by Philippe Augustin Thomas de Grandmaison was published La petite guerre ou traité du service des troupes légères en campagne(“The Little War, or a Treatise on the Field Service of Light Troops”). Unfortunately, we do not know whether Davydov read this work, but it became a reference book for many subsequent generations of partisans, theoretically formalizing the partisan experience of the era of Frederick the Great.

But it is known for sure that Grandmaison’s treatise was translated into Spanish in 1780 and was very useful to the inhabitants of the Pyrenees, who in 1808 faced the invasion of Napoleonic troops. A popular war against the invaders broke out in Spain, during which the stars of several guerrilla commanders rose, the most famous of whom was Juan Martin Diaz, or El Empesinado ("The Undaunted"). Russian society, dissatisfied with the forced alliance with Napoleon, followed the events in Spain with sympathy and hope.

Juan Martin Diaz is Davydov’s Spanish “colleague”. Artist – F. Goya
Source – ruralduero.com

By the beginning of 1812, the inevitability of a new conflict with Napoleon became obvious, and Alexander I was bombarded with various notes with plans for war against the “Corsican monster.” Historian V. M. Bezotosny especially notes the note of Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Chuykevich, an employee of the Special Chancellery of the War Ministry, in which he proposes that in a future war against Napoleon “to undertake and do something completely opposite to what the enemy wants”. Chuykevich lists the necessary measures:

“Evasion of general battles, guerrilla warfare by flying detachments, especially in the rear of the enemy’s operational line, avoidance of foraging and determination to continue the war”

Chuykevich did not rule out that the people would have to be used in the war, « which should be stolenlive and set up, as in Gishpania, with the help of the Clergy.”

“I was born for the fateful year of 1812”

In June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia. Lieutenant Colonel Denis Davydov began the war in the 2nd Army, which was led by his patron, Prince Bagration. According to the poet’s memoirs, he himself volunteered to organize a partisan detachment. On August 22, 1812, on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, a fateful explanation took place with Bagration, in which Denis Davydov argued in favor of his proposal:

“The enemy is going one way. This path has gone beyond measure in its length; transports of the enemy's vital and combat food cover the space from Gzhat to Smolensk and beyond. Meanwhile, the vastness of the part of Russia lying in the south of the Moscow route contributes to the twists and turns of not only parties, but also the entire army. What are crowds of Cossacks doing at the vanguard? Having left a sufficient number of them to maintain the outposts, it is necessary to divide the rest into parties and send them into the middle of the caravan following Napoleon."

Bagration approved this plan and reported it to Kutuzov. The commander-in-chief was skeptical about the hussar's idea, but gave him a small detachment for testing. Modern historians agree that Denis Davydov distorted the history of the creation of partisan detachments. In particular, P. P. Grunberg noticed indirect evidence in Davydov’s memoirs that he had some oral instructions from Prince Bagration. It seems that, rather, Bagration explained the problem to Davydov, and not Davydov to Bagration. Between August 19 and 22, several parties were created, and not just Davydov’s party. A.I. Popov, who studied the actions of partisan detachments in 1812, dates their first appearance back to July. Finally, the detachments of Seslavin and Figner, two other famous partisan commanders, were created not on their own initiative, but by the decision of the command. Most likely, Davydov took credit for the initiative to create partisan detachments, which actually came from the main headquarters.

Partisans of Denis Davydov. Artist – A. Nikolaev

The bright figure of the partisan poet Denis Davydov obscured other partisan commanders of that time from us. In the days when Davydov was just receiving a detachment under command, Baron Ferdinand von Winzengerode made a daring raid on Vitebsk. Captain Alexander Seslavin and his detachment were the first to discover Napoleon’s movement from Moscow to Maloyaroslavets, thanks to which Kutuzov revealed the enemy’s plan at the decisive moment of the 1812 campaign. Alexander Benckendorff liberated the Netherlands with a flying detachment in 1813, sparking an anti-French uprising. The British historian D. Lieven writes that strategically, the most important partisan raid was the invasion of Alexander Chernyshev’s detachment into Prussian territory at the beginning of 1813, which prompted the Prussian king to go over to the side of Russia.

So, Denis Davydov was neither the father of guerrilla warfare, nor the first partisan, nor, most likely, the most successful partisan of the Napoleonic era. However, this man did something more for the guerrilla wars of the future - he gave them a beautiful legend and a theory tested in practice. Let's turn to the last one.

Poet, hussar and partisan Denis Davydov among his fellow soldiers. Artist – E. Demakov
Source – golos-epokhi.ru

"A field full of poetry"

« Partisan- This fish, the population is the sea in which he swims", wrote Mao Zedong. Denis Davydov could not have known this aphorism, but he perfectly understood the importance of popular support. In his memoirs, Davydov colorfully describes his first meeting with the peasants after his detachment left the active army at the end of August 1812. The peasants mistook the Russian hussars for the French and almost killed them. “Then I learned from experience that in a people’s war one must not only speak the language of the mob, but adapt to it, to its customs and clothing,”– recalled the famous partisan.

According to Davydov’s recollections, he put on peasant clothes, grew a beard, hung the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on his chest and was accepted by the peasants as one of their own. Did he really have to resort to such a masquerade? Skeptical of Davydov, P. P. Grunberg believes that the ardent poet-partisan came up with this episode, and points out that none of the Russian partisans needed icons and army coats. One way or another, Davydov immediately tried to enlist the support of the population, distributing weapons taken from the French to the peasants and ordering them to kill "enemies of Christ's Church". With the help of the energetic district leader of the nobility Semyon Yakovlevich Khrapovitsky, Davydov gathered a militia, which was joined by 22 landowners with their peasants.

Denis Davydov considered the enemy’s supply system to be the main target of the partisan detachments. Consequently, the main actions of the parties should have been attacks on foragers, carts and warehouses. Knowing full well that a small detachment would not be able to attack large enemy forces or a well-fortified supply base, Davydov hoped to interrupt the connection between this base and the enemy army. The more extensive Napoleon's communications were, the easier this task became. By September 1812, food, ammunition and reinforcements were reaching Napoleon along a long line from Vilna through Smolensk to Moscow. When Kutuzov’s army carried out the Tarutino maneuver and hung over this line from the south, an almost ideal situation developed for Davydov’s detachment.

Davydov was not one of the armchair strategists who at that time enthusiastically assessed the pros and cons of the relative positions of the opposing armies. He was a practitioner and well understood the importance of the moral side of military affairs. For Davydov, partisanship is a formidable psychological weapon:

“What consequences will we not witness when the successes of the parties will turn to their side the entire population of the regions located in the rear of the enemy army, and the horror sown on its routes of communication will be revealed in its ranks?”

At first, Kutuzov gave Davydov only 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks - with such forces it was not easy to “spread terror” in the enemy’s rear. However, the party gradually grew due to reinforcements, captured prisoners and the aforementioned militia - at the peak of its activity, Davydov could put about 2,000 people under arms. He could, but he didn't want to. His detachment had to be as mobile as possible, so more than half a thousand people rarely took part in partisan operations. The rest (primarily peasants) continued to live a peaceful life and helped the partisans, giving them shelter, guarding prisoners and serving as guides.

The partisans' way of life was extraordinary. The day usually began at midnight, in the light of the moon the partisans had a hearty breakfast, saddled their horses and set out on a campaign around three o’clock in the morning. The party always marched together, having a small vanguard, a rearguard and security, marching from the side of the road at a minimum distance from the main forces. They walked until dusk and then settled down for the night. The camp was organized in such a way as to eliminate the likelihood of a surprise attack - pickets were set up around it, long- and short-range patrols were arranged, and in the camp itself there was always a detachment of twenty people in full combat readiness. Davydov borrowed this system from his teachers Bagration and Kulnev. Bagration said: “The enemy can beat me, but he won’t find me sleepy.”. Kulnev explained to his people: "I don't sleep so you can sleep".

Denis Davydov at the head of the partisans in the vicinity of Lyakhov. Artist – A. Telenik
Source – pro100-mica.livejournal.com

Davydov's detachment most often attacked from an ambush. A collection point was designated four or five miles from the ambush site, where the horsemen were to retreat in case of failure (if possible, scattered and in roundabout ways). Thus, the party was difficult to destroy even if the operation failed. Only part of the detachment attacked the convoy - Davydov was convinced that even if the guards outnumbered the attackers, it could always be defeated by choosing the right moment and using the factor of surprise. If this was successful, then the spoils went to only those who participated in the attack. Sometimes the attackers had to be reinforced, in which case the spoils went to the reserve, and the first wave received nothing.

Denis Davydov's ashtray, made from a horse's hoof. From the collection of the State Historical Museum
Source – vm1.culture.ru

In 1812, Russian partisans caused a lot of trouble for the French. On October 28, the combined forces of Vasily Orlov-Denisov, Denis Davydov, Alexander Seslavin and Alexander Figner forced the entire division of Jean-Pierre Augereau to lay down their arms - this happened after the battle at Lyakhov, near Smolensk. When the following year, 1813, the Russian army entered the territory of the German states, a real “competition” began between the partisans to liberate kingdoms, principalities and their capitals. In this quite serious struggle for laurels and ranks, Denis Davydov received the keys to Dresden as a prize. The partisan poet ended the war in Paris with the rank of major general.

“And the lyre grows numb, and the saber does not cut...”

In 1815, the Russian military began a new life and a completely different service. Like many other military officers, Davydov could not adapt to peacetime for a long time. “A boring time has come for our soldier brother!”, he writes to Pavel Kiselev. The wayward partisan had difficult relations with both Alexander I and many influential people from the royal circle. This predetermined Davydov’s resignation in 1823. Having retired from business, he “set up a bivouac” on the Verkhnyaya Maza estate near Syzran and plunged into a quiet family life. Only at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, Denis Davydov briefly returned to duty, fought in the Caucasus and participated in the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830–1831 - however, without gaining new fame.

Denis Davydov. Portrait fragment. Artist – V. Langer
Source – museumpushkin-lib.ru

The partisan experience of 1812 remained almost unclaimed after the Napoleonic Wars. This is not surprising, since partisanship was a desperate means - distributing weapons to the civilian population and inciting hatred in them was considered not only impermissible from the point of view of the unwritten rules of European war, but also dangerous for social foundations. No one could guarantee that the peasant would direct his weapon against the enemy, and not against his landowner. Figuratively speaking, there was a very visible danger of not being able to hold the “club of the people’s war” in one’s hands. In the papers of Denis Davydov there are orders to shoot peasants who killed nobles and robbed churches. And the partisans themselves did not always comply with the laws of war, since they could not burden themselves with prisoners.

There were other difficulties as well. If on the territory of “indigenous” Russia Davydov met with complete sympathy from the population, then after his detachment crossed the Dnieper near the village of Kopys (now in the Vitebsk region of Belarus), he was forced to request reinforcements:

“While I was robbing the middle of Russia, I was content with first 130, and then 500 people; but now with 760 people in enemy land, where everything is hostile to us, I am too weak and therefore I ask your Excellency to ask His Grace for an order to attach the 11th Jaeger Regiment with two guns to my detachment and leave it with me until further order, than do me a favor"

Fighting near Moscow and Smolensk, the partisans enjoyed the support of the peasants and easily found a common language with them. In the German lands, the population also welcomed the Russians cordially, but the language barrier was already felt. It is no coincidence that during this period partisans of German origin came to the fore - Benckendorff, Winzengerode and others. In France, the Russian partisans did not meet with either cordiality or a common language, and therefore could not mark themselves with significant deeds. Following the results of the Napoleonic Wars, the prevailing belief among the Russian military was that guerrilla warfare was a means only for internal use. In his writings, Davydov argued the opposite, but did not explain how he intended to wage an offensive guerrilla war on foreign territory. As Colonel Sergei Gershelman wrote about Davydov at the end of the 19th century, “He elevated the norms derived from observation during the Patriotic War into a general norm.”

The problem was that guerrilla warfare required completely different cavalry training. The horse party must be on the move all the time, so emphasis is needed on the endurance of the horse composition, and not on its strength. The partisans could rarely count on the help of infantry and artillery, which means they had to be able to conduct firefights themselves - both in the saddle and on foot. All this did not correspond to the cavalry traditions of the early 19th century.

The fighting of the Russians in the Caucasus and the French in Algeria in the 1830s and 1840s forced the military to think hard about protecting communications from raids. In the Caucasus, reinforced columns were formed that accompanied valuable cargo (the so-called “occasions”), and the highlanders did not risk attacking them. A similar system was introduced in Algeria by the French Marshal Thomas-Robert Bugeaud, who emphasized the superiority of columns over individual posts that did not protect anything except the ground on which they stood. It seemed that a recipe for reliable protection of communications had been found, and that soon only memories and poetic lines would remain about the partisans. Although attempts to create partisan detachments were made in Tsarist Russia, it took the exceptional circumstances of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars for Russian partisanship to truly revive.

Bibliography:

1. D. Davydov. Partisan diary of 1812 // Terrible weapon: Small war, partisanship and other types of asymmetric warfare in the light of the heritage of Russian military thinkers. M., 2007
2. D. Davydov. Experience in the theory of partisan action // Formidable weapons: Small war, partisanship and other types of asymmetric warfare in the light of the heritage of Russian military thinkers. M., 2007
3. F. Gershelman. Guerrilla warfare // Formidable weapons: Small war, partisanship and other types of asymmetric warfare in the light of the heritage of Russian military thinkers. M., 2007
4. Patriotic War of 1812. Encyclopedia. M., 2004
5. Bezotosny V. M. Russia in the Napoleonic Wars: 1805–1815. M., 2014
6. Lieven D. Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. (2014)
7. Kravchinsky Yu. There are troops behind enemy lines and ahead: partisans, but not those // http://ria.ru/1812_parallels/20121002/764467735.html
8. Grunberg P. P. Some features of the memoirs of D. V. Davydov “Diary of partisan actions of 1812” // The era of the Napoleonic wars: people, events, ideas. M., 2008
9. Popular Resistance in the French Wars: Patriots, Partisans and Land Pirates. Ed. by Charles J. Esdaile. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
10. D. Davydov. About guerrilla warfare // Formidable weapons: Small war, partisanship and other types of asymmetric warfare in the light of the heritage of Russian military thinkers. M., 2007

Introduction 3

Characteristics of D. V. Davydov’s works on partisan warfare 5

Style features of Davydov’s notes 8

Interpretation of the “small war” in Davydov’s notes 12

Conclusion 23

List of used literature 24

Introduction

At the beginning of the war of 1812, Davydov was a lieutenant colonel in the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment and was in the vanguard troops of the general. Vasilchikova. On August 21, 1812, in sight of the village of Borodino, where he grew up, where his parents’ house was already being hastily dismantled into fortifications, five days before the great battle, Denis Vasilyevich proposed to Bagration the idea of ​​a partisan detachment. From Davydov’s letter to the prince, General Bagration: “Your Excellency! You know that, having left the place of your adjutant, which was so flattering for my pride, joining the hussar regiment, the subject was partisan service, both according to the strength of my years, and experience, and, if I dare say, by my courage... You are my only benefactor; allow me to appear to you to explain my intentions; if they please you, use me according to my desire and be confident that the one who has held the title of Bagration’s adjutant for five years. in a row, he will support this honor with all the zeal that the plight of our dear fatherland requires..."

His rapid successes convinced Kutuzov of the advisability of guerrilla warfare, and he was not slow in giving it wider development. One of Davydov’s outstanding feats during this time was the case near Lyakhov, where he, along with other partisans, captured a two-thousand-strong detachment of the general. Augereau; then, near the city of Kopys, he destroyed the French cavalry depot, scattered the enemy detachment near Belynichi and, continuing the search to the Neman, occupied Grodno.

As a person, Davydov enjoyed great sympathy in friendly circles. According to the book. P. A. Vyazemsky, Davydov retained an amazing youth of heart and disposition until his death. His gaiety was infectious and exciting; he was the soul and flame of friendly conversations.

The name of Davydov as a “partisan poet” was covered with loud romantic glory. He was connected by close friendship with Pushkin, Yazykov, Vyazemsky, Baratynsky and other poets who praised him in their poems; His own lyrical and satirical poems also enjoyed considerable success. Back in 1821, he published “An Experience in the Theory of Partisan Action,” and after retiring, “he plunged into military notes,” creating a number of essays about the events of which he was a witness and participant. Written, according to Pushkin, “in an inimitable style,” these bright and lively essays are of exceptional historical and literary interest.

Work published

I'm damn happy for you
Our mother Russia!

Denis Vasilievich Davydov
(1784 —1839)

The name of Denis Davydov is widely known even to those who are not interested in military history. The partisan and poet entered school history textbooks; the film “Squadron of Flying Hussars”, which is quite popular even today, 30 years after its release, was made about him; his poems are still read by poetry lovers and sounded in songs. This man left a noticeable mark on history, and for many Russian people the concept of “real hussar” is immediately associated with the name of Denis Davydov.

Denis Vasilyevich Davydov was born in Moscow on July 16 (27), 1784 in the family of brigadier Vasily Denisovich Davydov, who served under the command of the famous commander A.V. Suvorov. The Davydov family descended from the Tatar Murza Minchak, who moved to Moscow at the beginning of the 15th century. A native Muscovite, Denis, however, spent most of his childhood on Ukrainian soil, where his father, who commanded the Poltava Light Horse Regiment, served. According to the general tradition of male nobles, Denis became involved in military affairs early and became a brilliant horseman and fencer. But at the same time, the teenager developed a certain inferiority complex due to his short stature and round, snub-nosed face; Because of this complex, Denis was known as a bully, as he was infuriated by any mocking glance in his direction.
From an early age, preparing for a military career, Denis literally idolized the most famous commander of that time - Alexander Suvorov, whom he knew personally. Denis was 9 years old when Alexander Vasilyevich came to visit the Davydovs. Suvorov, looking at the two sons of Vasily Denisovich, said, pointing to the nimble Denis: “this daring guy will be a military man, I won’t die, and he will already win three battles.” About Denis’ brother Evdokim, the commander said that he would join the civil service. Denis remembered this meeting for the rest of his life.
After the death of Catherine II and the accession to the throne of Paul I, who did not like Suvorov, the well-being of the Davydovs came to an end. An audit of the Poltava regiment, which my father commanded, discovered a shortage of 100 thousand rubles and Davydov Sr. was fired and ordered by the court to pay this amount, although his only fault was that he relied on the honesty of his quartermasters. I had to sell the estate. Over time, having gotten out of debt, my father bought a small village near Moscow, Borodino, near Mozhaisk (during the Battle of Borodino, the village, along with the manor’s house, burned down). When the time came, the father decided to assign his sons in accordance with Suvorov’s words - Denis to the cavalry guards, and his brother Evdokim to the archives of the Foreign Collegium.
Thus, in 1801, 17-year-old Denis Davydov entered service in the Guards Cavalry Regiment, located in St. Petersburg. Moreover, when Denis showed up to be assigned to the regiment, the officer on duty flatly refused to accept him because of his short stature. But Denis still managed to be accepted. The officers of the regiment very quickly fell in love with him for his charm and wit and gave him patronage. In the fall of 1801, he became an estandard cadet; in September 1802, Davydov was promoted to cornet, and in November 1803 to lieutenant. At the same time, Denis began to write poetry and fables, and in his fables he began to very caustically ridicule the top officials of the state. But when the impudent young man took a swing at the sovereign-emperor himself in the fable “Head and Legs,” Denis was immediately transferred from the capital’s guard to a provincial army hussar regiment based in the Kyiv province. Such a transfer at that time was considered a serious punishment: cavalry guards were dealt with in this way only for very serious offenses - cowardice in battle, embezzlement or cheating at cards. But Davydov was punished for his poetry. But Denis liked the hussars: dashing feasts, wild jokes, ostentatious dashing. All this gave the young poet a theme for new poems, and now he glorified the hussar’s life in his “desirable songs”, abandoning the writing of fables.

Denis Davydov - cavalry guard

However, Denis Davydov was depressed by the fact that he, who dreamed of military glory, almost missed the first war with Napoleon. The Guard took part in the battles with the French, but his hussar regiment did not; as a result, the young cavalry officer, who dreamed of military exploits, was forced to remain aloof from these events. To remain on the sidelines while his brother Evdokim, who left the civil service and joined the cavalry guards, managed to become famous at Austerlitz. In the mad attack of the cavalry guards on the entire French army at the most critical moment of the battle, Evdokim was seriously wounded (he received five saber wounds, one bullet and one bayonet wound), and was captured. After the battle, Napoleon visited the infirmary where the hero lay and had a conversation with him; This conversation was described in all European newspapers.
Denis, who learned about this, decided to go to war at any cost. Moreover, he acted completely like a hussar. In November 1806, Davydov at night penetrated Field Marshal M.F. Kamensky, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army at that time. Kamensky, a small, dry old man in a nightcap, almost died of fear when Denis appeared in front of him and demanded that he be sent to war. Only all this turned out to be in vain, since Kamensky commanded the army for only a week; he was removed because he lost his mind. He came out to the army in a hare sheepskin coat and a scarf and declared: “Brothers, save yourself as best you can...”. According to one version, he went crazy after Denis Davydov appeared in front of him at night...
However, the news of the desperate hooligan hussar reached Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, the sovereign’s favorite, and she helped the hot young man. At the beginning of 1807, Denis Davydov was appointed adjutant to General P.I. Bagration. At one time, Davydov made fun of Bagration’s long nose in one of his poems and therefore was a little afraid of his first meeting with the dashing general. Bagration, seeing Denis, said to the officers present: “here is the one who made fun of my nose.” To which Davydov, without being taken aback, replied that he wrote about his nose only out of envy, since he practically doesn’t have one himself. Bagration liked the joke. And he often, when it was reported to him that the enemy was “on the nose,” asked again: “On whose nose? If it’s on mine, then you can still have lunch, and if it’s on Denisov’s, then you’ll be fine!”
Already on January 24, 1807, Denis Davydov took part in battles with the French. In the battle of Preussisch-Eylau, he was under Bagration, who appeared with his adjutant in the most dangerous and critical areas. It was there that Denis first learned that war is not a competition of daring, but a difficult and terrible matter. That day, Davydov had to take part in a terrible battle with superior enemy forces, from which the young man emerged with a gray strand in his hair. For this battle, Denis received the Order of St. Vladimir IV degree, a cloak from Bagration and a trophy horse. In this and other battles, Davydov distinguished himself with exceptional courage, for which he was awarded not only orders, but also a very honorable award - a golden saber with the inscription “For bravery.”
At the very end of the campaign, Davydov had a chance to see Napoleon. At that time, peace was concluded in Tilsit between the French and Russian emperors, and many did not approve of it. The hot-tempered Bagration, in order not to “break the woods,” called in sick and sent Davydov in his place. Davydov was very happy to see that Napoleon was even shorter than himself.
Then Denis Davydov took part in the Russian-Swedish war. In the winter of 1808, he was in the Russian army operating in Finland; walked with the famous hussar general Kulnev to Uleaborg, occupied the island of Karloe with the Cossacks and, returning to the vanguard, walked across the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia. In 1809, again serving under Prince Bagration, who commanded the troops in Moldova, Davydov participated in various military operations against the Turks, and then, when Bagration was replaced by Count Kamensky, he entered the vanguard of the Moldavian army under the command of Kulnev.
By the time the Patriotic War of 1812 began, Denis Davydov was listed as a lieutenant colonel in the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment and was in the vanguard troops of General Vasilchikov. Together with the troops, he retreated to Borodino, where on August 21, 1812, five days before the great battle, Denis Vasilyevich proposed to Bagration the idea of ​​a partisan detachment. He borrowed this idea from the Guerillas (Spanish partisans), with whom Napoleon could not cope; in addition, it seems to me (although this is not mentioned anywhere), Davydov could not have been unaware of the formation of the very first Russian partisan detachment near Smolensk, commanded by General Wintzingerode. The logic of guerrilla warfare, proposed by Davydov, was simple: not a single army in the world is capable of winning without a regular supply of food, weapons, uniforms and ammunition. And if you take away carts, fodder from the French and break bridges, this will create big problems for Napoleon.
Bagration gave the go-ahead for partisan activity, but due to preparations for a big battle, Davydov was not allocated large forces: instead of the regiment of hussars and the regiment of Cossacks that Denis Vasilyevich asked for, he was allocated only 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks. Subsequently, it turned out that this stinginess of the command benefited the partisans: such small forces were easier to feed and easier to hide from superior enemy troops; a small detachment was more mobile and mobile than a large unit.

Having become a partisan, Denis Davydov grew a beard so that the peasants would not mistake him for a Frenchman

Partisan life began with an unpleasant discovery: on the very first night, Davydov’s detachment was ambushed by peasants, and Denis almost died. It came as a surprise to Davydov that the peasants had little understanding of the details of the military uniform, which was similar among the French and Russians, especially since Russian officers spoke, as a rule, French. After this incident, Davydov, so that the peasants would consider him one of their own, put on a peasant’s caftan and grew a beard. True, he subsequently changed his costume: in the portrait by A. Orlovsky, painted in 1814, Davydov is dressed in Caucasian fashion - in a checkmen and a Caucasian hat, and is armed with a partisan Circassian saber, which the French did not have. Apparently, he did this to show the peasants that he was no match for them, but still a master...

portrait by A. Orlovsky (1814), Davydov dressed in Caucasian style

The small number of Davydov’s detachment did not prevent him from winning major victories. So, in one of the forays, he, with his 50 hussars and 80 Cossacks, managed to capture 370 French, while repelling 200 Russian prisoners, a truck with cartridges and nine trucks with provisions. True, his detachment did not remain small in number for long - it constantly grew due to the joining peasants and freed prisoners. The rapid successes of Davydov's partisans convinced Kutuzov of the advisability of partisan warfare, and the commander was not slow to give it wider development, constantly sending reinforcements to the partisans. The second time Davydov saw Napoleon was when he and his partisans were in ambush in the forest, and a dormez with Napoleon drove past him. But Davydov at that moment had too little strength to attack the emperor’s guards. Napoleon fiercely hated Davydov for his constant violation of the supply of the French army and ordered Denis to be shot on the spot upon his arrest. For the sake of his capture, he even allocated a detachment of two thousand horsemen with eight chief officers and one staff officer. Davydov, who had half as many people, managed to drive the detachment into a trap and take him prisoner along with all the officers.

Attack of Davydov's partisans on a French detachment

One of Davydov’s most outstanding feats during this time was the case near Lyakhov, where he, along with other partisan detachments, captured General Augereau’s two thousand-strong detachment; then, near the city of Kopys, Davydov destroyed the French cavalry depot, scattered another enemy detachment near Belynichi, and then, continuing the search to the Neman, occupied Grodno.
With the expulsion of the French from Russia, the partisan war was over, and Davydov was seconded to the corps of General Wintzingerode, with whom he participated in the battles against Napoleon in Saxony. In 1814, Davydov, commanding his Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment, was with the Prussian army of Blucher, participated with it in all major affairs and especially distinguished himself in the battle of La Rotière. Denis Vasilyevich again became famous on the battlefield near Paris. In that battle, five horses were killed under him, but he and his men still broke through the hussars of Jacquinot’s brigade to the French artillery battery, chopped up the servants and captured the guns, thereby deciding the outcome of the battle. For this feat, Davydov was awarded the rank of major general.

Akhtyrsky hussars of Denis Davydov in attack

After the end of the war, Denis Davydov began to have troubles. At first he was sent to command the dragoon brigade, which was stationed near Kiev. Like any hussar, Denis was an ardent patriot of the light cavalry, and despised the heavier dragoons. Accordingly, the former partisan considered this appointment an insult. Then Denis Vasilyevich was informed that the rank of major general had been assigned to him by mistake, and he was just a colonel. And to top it all off, Colonel Davydov was transferred to serve in the Oryol province as commander of a horse-jaeger brigade. This was the last straw, since he had to lose his pride - his hussar mustache (jaegers were not allowed mustaches). And then the enraged hussar wrote a letter to the emperor saying that he could not carry out the order because of his mustache. Denis Vasilyevich was expecting resignation and disgrace, but the tsar, when he was informed about Davydov’s letter, accidentally found himself in a good mood: “Well! Let him remain a hussar." And he appointed Denis Vasilyevich to the hussar regiment - with the return of the rank of major general!
In 1815, Davydov was chief of staff, first in the 7th and then in the 3rd corps, while simultaneously engaging in literary activities. Twice more he had the opportunity to take part in wars: in 1827 in battles against the Persians, and in 1831 against Polish rebels. In the last war, Davydov took the city of Vladimir-Volynsky, for which he received the Order of Anna, 1st degree.
In 1819, Denis Vasilyevich finally got married (during his previous life he experienced a number of love affairs, but they all ended very sadly). Davydov married Sofya Chirkova, the daughter of the late general, who was already beyond the then accepted age of a bride (she was already 24 years old, while Davydov was 35 years old). The family and the children that appeared (a total of nine children were born in the marriage of Denis and Sophia) changed the character of the former partisan, now for him family matters were more important than service and military adventures.

Lieutenant General Davydov in the last years of his life

In order to be at home, near his wife, Davydov continually called in sick and went on multi-month vacations. After the Polish company, when he was 47 years old, he completely resigned. True, they did not give him resignation, but they no longer bothered him with his service; in fact, during this period his entire service was limited to wearing a lieutenant general's uniform.
D.V. Davydov spent the last years of his life in the Verkhnyaya Maza estate, which belonged to the poet’s wife, Sofya Nikolaevna Chirkova. Here he continued to engage in creativity, conducted extensive correspondence with M.N. Zagoskin, A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, other writers and publishers. He ordered books from abroad, hunted, wrote military-historical notes, and was involved in raising children and housekeeping. In general, I lived for my own pleasure. As a person, Davydov enjoyed great sympathy in friendly circles. According to Prince P. A. Vyazemsky, Davydov retained an amazing youth of heart and disposition until his death. His gaiety was infectious and exciting; he was the soul of friendly conversations.

Denis Vasilyevich died on April 22 (May 4), 1839, at less than 55 years old. Moreover, he could have been saved if they had sent for a doctor as soon as he had a stroke. However, the wife, who was distinguished by her thriftiness, did not want to send the horse on the road in the evening in the rain, fearing that it would break its legs. She believed that Denis Vasilyevich would “be dealt with and be patient until the morning”; but I couldn’t stand it...
Davydov died in his estate Verkhnyaya Maza, but then his ashes were transported to Moscow and buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent. His wife, Sofya Nikolaevna, survived Denis Vasilyevich by more than 40 years. Davydov, Denis Vasilievich. Experience in the theory of guerrilla action Denis Davydov in battle. 19th century postcard