Pyotr Khristianovich Wittgenstein (1769-1843), Russian field marshal. As the commander of a Hussar regiment, he participated in the war with France in 1805-1807. In the Patriotic War of 1812, he commanded the 1st infantry Corps covering St. Petersburg, thanks to the successful actions of which the French offensive on the capital was stopped. In April-May 1813, he was commander-in-chief of the combined Russian-Prussian forces, but after the failures at Lutzen and Bautzen, he was removed from command. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, he was commander-in-Chief of the active army. The first mentor of Peter Wittgenstein in the field of military glory was General Wilhelm Khristoforovich Derfelden. This "Catherine's eagle" for thirty years fought alongside A.V. Suvorov, was highly valued by the generalissimo and had something to pass on to his subordinates. Under Derfelden's command, Wittgenstein distinguished himself in the war against the Bar Confederation, which supported the Polish gentry in their desire to secede from the Russian Empire. In the battle of Ostrolenka on October 18, 1794, he led a squadron of famously attacked an enemy battery and captured it. The Order of St. George, 4th class, was awarded to him. Suvorov - "natural hare". Derfelden is an Estonian German. Wittgenstein is a German "Nezhinsky" (in the sense that he was born in Nezhin). All of them (and other heroes who are innumerable - the Georgian P. I. Bagration, the Scotsman M. B. Barclay de Tolly, the son of the "Turkish subject" A. I. Kutaisov, the Armenian V. G. Madatov...) Russia was both a much-loved Fatherland and an altar to which they brought their military talent. So the deeds and exploits of Wittgenstein, the scion of a noble German family, belong to Russia. Pyotr Khristianovich fought with the Poles, the Turks, and the Swedes. But he especially distinguished himself in the Patriotic War of 1812. By the time of Napoleon's invasion, Wittgenstein, who had survived an unjustified d ... Read more