This hero of the war of 1812 became a legend for posterity. For his contemporaries, he was the owner of an iron character and the first of the stubborn ones.
Over time, the heroic pages of the history of our Fatherland are covered with gloss, under which it is difficult to see real people. During his lifetime, General Ermolov was an idol of a soldier and a controversial character among his peers. Unlike the officers, who knew how to change their views depending on the political situation, he never resorted to such dirty tricks. If he was wrong, then monstrous and absolutely sincere.
Childhood
In ancient times, the Horde murza Arslan-Ermol passed to the service of the Moscow tsar. The title of nobility was retained for him, and after baptism he was able to find a wife for himself. The descendants of the international union received the surname Ermolov. A distant descendant of the formidable nomad Peter was not rich. He and his wife lived in Moscow, where he worked in the office of the Prosecutor General. In 1777, a son was born to the Ermolov couple, who was named Alexei.
As soon as the boy was born, he was enlisted in the army - this was the custom of the Catherine era. Alyosha was "drafted" into the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment. This was the merit of the boy's mother, Maria, who was related to the favorites of the Empress Potemkny and Orlov. Naturally, no one drilled the baby on the parade ground, he was brought up by his relatives, and at the age of 9 he was sent to the Moscow University boarding school.
Military career and big politics
The real service to the Fatherland for the successor of the Yermolovs began in 1792 at the headquarters of the Nzhegorodsky dragoon regiment. The desire to continue his education led the young man to the artillery - the most intellectual branch of the army of that era. It was precisely such an officer that Alexander Suvorov needed, who during the Polish campaign of 1794 emphasized the coherence of infantry and artillery operations. For his participation in suppressing the rebellion, Alexei was awarded the St. George Cross.
The field marshal gave the young artilleryman a start in life. In 1795 Yermolov was included in the embassy in Italy, and a year later he stormed the fortress of Derbent in Persia. The coming to power of Paul I and his defeat of the elite of Catherine's era, our hero did not approve. Soon the sovereign became aware of a conspiracy maturing in the army, and Yermolov was among the members of the political circle. The unreliable lieutenant colonel was exiled to Kostroma. When local officials offered him intercession, the proud man refused, not wanting to stain his biography with service to the half-mad Paul.
Return to duty
Napoleon's victories in Europe and the annexation of the Russian Empire to the anti-French coalition worried the retiree. In 18001 he returned to the army and after 4 years took part in a number of battles. The command noted the courage of Alexei Ermolov - he did not flinch at Austerlitz, at Preussisch-Eylau it was his personal orders that saved the Russian soldiers from complete defeat.
Returning to Russia, Alexey Petrovich managed to quarrel with Bogdan Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly. The artilleryman did not hesitate in expressions addressed to the personality of his enemy. In his backbiting, he slipped into openly obscene attacks that smacked of Nazism. Later, his rhetoric was borrowed by Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, competing with Barclay de Tolly for the post of commander-in-chief.
Patriotic War and a trip abroad
The difficult beginning of the war of 1812 under the command of the hated Bogdan Bogdanovich gave way to confidence in an imminent counterattack against the Napoleonic armada, when the emperor appointed Kutuzov as commander in chief. Mikhail Illarionovich knew Ermolov in 1805, so he entrusted the reserves to him at the Borodino field. At a difficult moment, he came to the aid of Raevsky. Barclay de Tolly praised the courage of his ill-wisher and asked Kutuzov for a reward for the brave man.
After the battle, Alexei Petrovich demanded not to surrender Moscow, but the decision was not made by him. The transition from defense to offensive inspired the general, but he did not accept the idea of a foreign campaign. Remaining faithful to the oath, Ermolov fought in a foreign land with the same valor. When Alexander I was offered to raise the general from artillery in the rank, he refused, not wanting to see the brawler and rude commander in chief. In 1816, the veteran of the war with Napoleon was able to return home to a village near Orel, where his parents had moved from the capital.
Wars in the East
Ermolov was remembered in connection with the aggravation of the situation in the Caucasus. The famous general was sent to defend the eastern borders of the state and to keep order there. Alexey Petrovich had a cool temper. He responded to all the attacks of the highlanders with large-scale military operations, deployed his soldiers in new fortresses. In troubled Dagestan, our hero started a family - according to local custom he married a certain Totay, recognized her son.
When the Persians invaded the Caucasus in 1826, the general demanded that the new emperor Nicholas I send help. The sovereign, who survived the Decembrist uprising, was shocked by the tone of Ermolov's letters. He asked his entourage to follow the impudent man and received an impressive list of the hero's vices in 1812. The brawler's resignation saved him from further proceedings.
Sunset
Since 1827, Alexei Ermolov lived either in his estate or in Moscow. The wife refused to go with him, she returned to her parents. Later, General's son Claudius also left to serve in the Caucasus and continue his father's business. The old man was not bored alone - he was elected a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, he made friends with many famous writers, helped his colleagues with advice. During the Crimean War, the legendary veteran was remembered, and in 1853 he was appointed head of the people's militia, however, the age and laziness of officials did not allow him to make a significant contribution to the salvation of the Fatherland.
Aleksey Petrovich Ermolov died in April 1861. He bequeathed to make the funeral as modest as possible, but the state propaganda needed an idol. The deceased was honored in Moscow and St. Petersburg, court artists and writers in their work sculpted a new image of the general - devoid of flaws. The monument to Ermolov in the city of Oryol, where the hero is buried, was erected only in 2012.
