Pyotr Bagration

Lore & Background

Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Kizlyar. His father, Ivan (Ivane), served as an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, in which Bagration also enlisted in 1782. Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration began his military career serving in the Russo-Circassian War of 1763–1864. He later participated in a war against the Ottomans and the capture of Ochakov in 1788. Later, he helped suppress the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 in Poland and capture Warsaw. During Russia's Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799 against the French, he served with distinction under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov. In 1805, Russia joined the coalition against Napoleon. After the collapse of the Austrians at Ulm in October 1805, Bagration won praise for his successful defense in the Battle of Schöngrabern (November 1805) that allowed Russian forces to withdraw and unite with the main Russian army of Mikhail Kutuzov. In December 1805, the combined Russo-Austrian army suffered defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz, where Bagration commanded the allied right wing against the French under Jean Lannes. He commanded Russian troops in the Finnish War (1808–1809) against Sweden and in another war against the Turks (1806–1812) on the Danube. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Bagration commanded one of two large Russian armies (Barclay de Tolly commanded the other) fighting a series of rear-guard actions. The Russians failed to stop the French advance at the Battle of Smolensk in August 1812. Barclay had proposed a scorched-earth retreat that the emperor Alexander I of Russia had approved, although Bagration preferred to confront the French in a major battle. Kutuzov succeeded Barclay as commander-in-chief but continued his policy until the Battle of Borodino (7 September [O.S. 26 August] 1812) near Moscow. Bagration commanded the left wing around what became known as the Bagration flèches at Borodino, where he was mortally wounded; he died two weeks later. Originally buried at a local church, in 1839 he was reburied on the battlefield of Borodino.

Reader's Guide

Bagration was born in 1765 to a prince of the Mukhrani branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, Colonel Prince Ivane Bagrationi. He studied Russian and German and was taught Persian, Turkish, Armenian, and Georgian by his father. He enlisted in the Imperial Russian Army in 1782 as a sergeant in the Kavsansk Rifles of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment. He served in the Russo-Circassian War, participated in the Siege of Ochakov (1788), and helped suppress the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel (26 October 1794), colonel (1798), and major-general (1799). He accompanied Suvorov in the Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799. In 1800, Emperor Paul recognized his title of Prince (Knyaz) Bagration in Russia and married him to Countess Catherine Pavlovna Skavronskaya. The marriage was a failure; Catherine fled to Vienna in 1805. Bagration was obliged by the emperor to claim their daughter, Marie-Clementine, as his own and to subsidize thousands of rubles of Catherine's debts. He had a reputation as a heavy gambler. In the wars of 1805, he successfully resisted attacks at Schöngrabern (16 November) and commanded the advance guard at Austerlitz (2 December). He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1805. He fought at Eylau (7 February), Heilsberg (11 June), and Friedland (14 June) in 1807. He commanded Russia's Finnish Campaign in 1808 and Turkish Campaign in 1809, capturing the Åland Islands. He was promoted to full general of infantry. In 1812, he commanded the Second Western Army. He led the left wing at Borodino (7 September), where he was mortally wounded and died from gangrene on 24 September in the village of Simi.

Did You Know?

• Bagration did not know French, unlike many other Russian aristocrats.
• His younger brother Roman also became a general in the Imperial Russian Army.
• Bagration was the alleged lover of Emperor Paul's daughter Catherine.
• He was forced to sell estates to cover gambling losses as high as 80,000 roubles.