The historian Alexander Ivanovich Talanov compared the battle that took place on August 6, 1812 near Polotsk with the Battle of Austerlitz in respect of the resourcefulness and courage displayed by the Russian army.
The 1st Corps led by Lieutenant General Count Peter Wittgenstein protected the road to Petersburg. It consisted of a Consolidated Cuirassier Regiment which was formed of reserve squadrons of the 1st Cuirassier Division. Among them was the 4th squadron of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment under the command of Vladimir Karlovich Knorring. Alexey Andrianovich Protasov was in charge of the Consolidated Cuirassier Regiment.
By Count Wittgenstein’s oversight, the Russian army did not have time to break their camp, and the French caught them by surprise. The retreat began. Unexpectedly, the cuirassiers, rushing through the camp and smashing the enemy infantry, crashed into the French cavalry. Marshal Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr ordered to meet the cuirassiers with canister shots, but the gunners did not have time to execute the order and were under an avalanche of horsemen. The French who were nearby rushed to the aid of their units, and the 4th squadron risked being surrounded. Then Lieutenant Nikolay Alexandrovich Okunev ordered the trumpeter to signal the troops that a gathering was coming.
The officer and memoirist Georgy Nikolayevich, Duke of Leuchtenberg, wrote that the squadron pursued the enemy cavalry to the very walls of Polotsk, “on the way… they overturned a carriage in which the wounded Saint-Cyr was being transported, but … did not recognize him and did not take him prisoner.” Almost 60 horses were killed or seriously injured. The regiment reported 27 people killed, wounded and missing — but the confused troops were able to reorganize and retreat in an orderly fashion.
The Cuirassier Regiment took possession of 15 French guns. For lack of horses, only two of these trophies were captured. The rest were left in place, safely disabled.
Many squadron members were recommended for military awards after this campaign. Colonel Protasov and Captain Knorring received the Order of St. George, 4th class, and other officers — orders and the Order of St. Anna, 4th class, with swords. Squadron Wachtmeister Vasiliev, standard-bearing junkers Focht and Kaznacheev, trumpeter Rozov, non-commissioned officer Omelchenko and standard-bearing junker Shishkov, who preserved the twice-shot standard, were awarded the Insignia of the Military Order. Sixteen privates received the same award.
Viktor Vikentievich Mazurovsky, who painted this canvas, graduated from the battle-painting class, and was a student of Bogdan Pavlovich Willewalde. For his achievements, he was awarded first a small and then a large gold medal of the Academy, and many of his works were commissioned by regiments.
The 1st Corps led by Lieutenant General Count Peter Wittgenstein protected the road to Petersburg. It consisted of a Consolidated Cuirassier Regiment which was formed of reserve squadrons of the 1st Cuirassier Division. Among them was the 4th squadron of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment under the command of Vladimir Karlovich Knorring. Alexey Andrianovich Protasov was in charge of the Consolidated Cuirassier Regiment.
By Count Wittgenstein’s oversight, the Russian army did not have time to break their camp, and the French caught them by surprise. The retreat began. Unexpectedly, the cuirassiers, rushing through the camp and smashing the enemy infantry, crashed into the French cavalry. Marshal Laurent de Gouvion-Saint-Cyr ordered to meet the cuirassiers with canister shots, but the gunners did not have time to execute the order and were under an avalanche of horsemen. The French who were nearby rushed to the aid of their units, and the 4th squadron risked being surrounded. Then Lieutenant Nikolay Alexandrovich Okunev ordered the trumpeter to signal the troops that a gathering was coming.
The officer and memoirist Georgy Nikolayevich, Duke of Leuchtenberg, wrote that the squadron pursued the enemy cavalry to the very walls of Polotsk, “on the way… they overturned a carriage in which the wounded Saint-Cyr was being transported, but … did not recognize him and did not take him prisoner.” Almost 60 horses were killed or seriously injured. The regiment reported 27 people killed, wounded and missing — but the confused troops were able to reorganize and retreat in an orderly fashion.
The Cuirassier Regiment took possession of 15 French guns. For lack of horses, only two of these trophies were captured. The rest were left in place, safely disabled.
Many squadron members were recommended for military awards after this campaign. Colonel Protasov and Captain Knorring received the Order of St. George, 4th class, and other officers — orders and the Order of St. Anna, 4th class, with swords. Squadron Wachtmeister Vasiliev, standard-bearing junkers Focht and Kaznacheev, trumpeter Rozov, non-commissioned officer Omelchenko and standard-bearing junker Shishkov, who preserved the twice-shot standard, were awarded the Insignia of the Military Order. Sixteen privates received the same award.
Viktor Vikentievich Mazurovsky, who painted this canvas, graduated from the battle-painting class, and was a student of Bogdan Pavlovich Willewalde. For his achievements, he was awarded first a small and then a large gold medal of the Academy, and many of his works were commissioned by regiments.
