The terrible story of the General who never lost.

 The terrible story of the General who never lost. 

Nearly all soldiers and veterans have heard, at least sometime during their military career, the old maxim "Train Hard, Fight Easy". But very few of us know where it comes from and who was, apparently, the first to coin this so very true military motto. To my surprise I learnt just the other day, while sniffing around the Napoleonic Wars, that he was a Russian. 

A Russian general, who during a long and brilliant military career right up to his ripe old age of seventy years fought 63 major battles and never lost one... His stature and fame was such that the brutal communist dictator Joseph Stalin, desperately trying to rally his oppressed Russian subjects to save his skin against the Germans, fell back on this legendary monarchist military leader to raise Russian patriotism and willingness to sacrifice. Even though Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of Italy, Prince of Sardinia, Commander of Russia's Ground and Naval forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian armies, recipient of the Order of St. Andrew, the Apostle First Called, Order of St. George the Bringer of Victory First Class, Order of St. Vladimir First Class, Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, Order of St. Anna First Class, Grand Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the (Austrian) Order of Maria Teresa First Class, the (Prussian) Order of the Black Eagle, Order of the Red Eagle and the Pour le Merite, the (Sardinian) Order of the Revered Saints Maurice and Lazarus, the (Bavarian) Order of St. Gubert and the Golden Lioness, the (French) United Orders of the Carmelite Virgin Mary and St. Lazarus, the (Polish) Order of the White Eagle and the Order of Saint Stanislaus, and the last Generalissimo of the Russian Empire under the Tzars, was and stood for the very opposite of what the tsarist-family-murdering communists and Stalin believed in. He was religious and pious, humble and modest, spartan and hardy, abstemious and frugal to the point of  ascetic. In battle, he was a lion, in victory, he was magnanimous and forgiving. He led from the front, shared the same risks and discomforts as his soldiers, sleeping on straw and contenting himself with the humblest fare. Not surprisingly, Suvorov was adored by his men, who followed him through thick and thin, literally through hell and snow and ice, facing vastly superior enemy forces. And gave their all, even against impossible odds, - a major factor in his incredibly successful military career.   

Behind Suvorov's simple and common demeanor lay a sharp, educated and well-trained mind.  And an uncommon determination, tenacity and boldness. Born a sickly child to noble parents in Moscow in 1729, he withstood the pressure from his father, who wanted him to enter the safe civil service.  Instead, he diligently learnt mathematics, literature, philosophy, and geography, taught himself to read French, German, Polish, and Italian, and in his father's vast library studied military history, strategy, tactics, and prominent military authors ranging from the ancient Romans to the Swedish king Charles XII. Thereby also achieving a solid grounding in military engineering, siege warfare, artillery, and fortification. His physical disabilities he overcame by rigorous exercise and deliberate exposure to hardship. When Alexander was 12, a neighbouring general overheard his father complaining about him and asked to speak to the child. He was so impressed, that he persuaded the father to allow him to join the military when he was old enough. 

Suvorov entered the army in 1748 and continued studying as a cadet during his initial training and service. His first battle experience took place against the Prussians during the Seven Years' War. Distinguishing himself repeatedly in battle, he became a colonel at the age of 33. Next, he served in Poland, dispersing the Polish forces under Pułaski and capturing Kraków in 1768, paving the way for the first partition of Poland between Austria, Prussia and Russia. 

They say that behind every successful man there is a woman. Well, behind Suvorov's success there was an empress, by name of Catherine the Great, who ascended the Russian tsarist throne in 1762 and reigned for much of his life. Suvorov himself is said to have described his first meeting with the Empress as the one that led him on the path to glory. Now a major-general, he entered the war against the Turks in 1773. It was here that he gained ever-lasting fame not only amongst his own people, but also with the neighbouring nations he freed from Islamic rule.  

His stunning victories over a numerically superior Turkish army established him as a brilliant field commander and extraordinary leader, with an uncanny astuteness to read, and act on, a battlefield situation correctly. But this meant he often went directly against superior orders. For "unauthorized actions against the Turks," Suvorov was actually tried and sentenced to death afterwards.... But Tsarina Catherine the Great refused to uphold the verdict, proclaiming "winners can't be judged." Under Catherine's long and flourishing rule, Suvorov served in many parts of the Russian Empire, the Caucasus and Finland. In 1778, he prevented a Turkish landing in the Crimea, thwarting another Russo-Turkish war.  

On behalf of his Empress, he organized the resettlement of Armenian migrants displaced from Crimea and helped them to establish a new city. From 1787 to 1791 he again fought the Turks during another Russo-Turkish war and won many victories, being wounded twice in the process. By the river Rymnik, where he commanded a Russo-Austrian force of 25,000 against 100,000 Turks, he routed the enemy  within a few hours, with the loss of only 500 men. For this victory, Catherine the Great made Suvorov a count with the name "Rymniksky" in addition to his own name, and the Emperor Joseph II made him a count of the Holy Roman Empire. And he founded another city, Tiraspol, as a border bastion on the Dniester river. Which today is the capital of the de facto independent Transnistria, where his impressive statue is the most distinctive landmark.

Immediately after a final peace with the Ottoman Empire was signed, Suvorov was again transferred to Poland, where the Poles had rebelled during the so-called Kościuszko Uprising.  After his victory at the Battle of Maciejowice, Suvorov captured General Tadeusz Kościuszko and moved on Warsaw. 

An internal struggle for power in Warsaw and the demoralisation of the city's population had prevented the Poles from finishing the city's fortifications. On November 4, 1794, Suvorov's forces stormed Warsaw and captured Praga, one of its boroughs. This finally broke the spirit of the Poles and put an end to the Kościuszko Uprising. As usual, Suvorov had ordered his men to spare non-combatants and evacuate the townspeople, but here things had gone horribly wrong. 

The battle had spread to the streets, the insurgents hid in civilian houses, vowing to fight to the last man, and amongst the Russians revenge was in the air as a consequence of the massacre of  two thousand Russian military servicemen who had been stationed in Warsaw and were massacred by Polish soldiers and armed mobs at the beginning of the uprising. In Praga, 9,000 rebels and 7,000 civilians or even up to 20,000 rebels and civilians died.

Despite the rage of his troops, however, thousands of Poles were taken alive and most of those captured in Praga were soon released by Suvorov. Once again, he had managed to irritate his superiors, as is confirmed by a letter of State Secretary Dmitry Troschinsky to Count Alexander Vorontsov on 24 November 1794: "Count Suvorov has rendered great services by taking Warsaw, but is unbearably annoying with his inconsistent orders there. 

All Poles in general, not excluding the main rioters, are being released by him to their homes...". To prevent any further excesses, Suvorov also ordered his troops stationed in Poland to keep "serenity, quietness and friendliness" and prohibited them, under the threat of punishment, from oppressing the local population or even showing any forms of disrespect towards the Polish people of all ranks. And once again, his Empress stood behind him. After the victory, Suvorov sent a report to her of only three words: "Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" Catherine replied in an equally short message: "Hurrah, Field-Marshal!", thereby awarding him his new title... 

However, the days of Suvorov's royal protector were numbered. Catherine II died in 1796 and her son and successor Paul I was a totally different kettle of fish. As a prince, he had became an admirer of the flashy uniforms, parades, drills, and common corporal punishments of the Prussian Army. 

He even had his own regiment of Russian soldiers whom he dressed up in Prussian-style uniforms and paraded around. Now enthroned as the new Tsar, his ideas were totally at odds with those of Suvorov, who had not only thrown out the ridiculous Prussian uniforms, but had trained his army according to his own ideas, as laid down in his major book “The Science of Victory”. 

He waged war based on speed and mobility, accuracy of fire and the bayonet, as well as detailed planning and careful strategy. Abandoning drills, he instead communicated with his troops in clear and understandable ways. Suvorov also took great care of his army’s supply lines and living conditions, drastically cutting instances of illness among his soldiers. It was inevitable that the new ruler and his best general would soon clash. 

Disregarding Paul's orders to train new soldiers in the Prussian manner, which he considered cruel and useless, Suvorov infuriated the Tsar and was dismissed and exiled to his estate near Nowgorod,  where he was kept under surveillance by his paranoid and suspicious ruler.  It is recorded that on Sundays the old general tolled the bell for church and sang among the rustics in the village choir. On weekdays he worked among them in a smock-frock. Now approaching seventy, it seemed the title- and medal-bedecked military genius would quietly die in his simple cabin, forgotten by the state he had served so well. 

His life would take another turn, however. The reason can be summed up in one word: Napoleon. The diminutive Corsican, having gained control over revolutionary France, turned its ill-disciplined soldiers into a highly efficient military machine, which became the nightmare of all of Europe's kings and emperors. So much so, that Tsar Paul was forced in 1799 to come pleading back to Suvorov, reinstating him as field marshal and giving him command of the Austro-Russian army, with orders to drive the French forces out of Italy. 

Suvorov and Napoleon never met in battle because Napoleon was campaigning in Egypt at the time. However, Suvorov erased practically all of the gains Napoleon had made for France during 1796 and 1797, defeating some of Napoleon's top generals: Moreau at Cassano d'Adda, MacDonald at Trebbia, and Joubert at Novi. He went on to capture Milan  and drive out the French from Italy, becoming a country's hero once again. 

Panic having gripped the French, who realised he could now march on Paris itself, they sent frantic messages to Napoleon to come back. But before Napoleon could do so, the inadequacies among the leaders of the European anti-French alliance saved the French from an early disaster and a possible clash between two of the most brilliant military commanders of the age. Instead of going straight for the heart of the French Republic, Suvorov was ordered to move north into Switzerland. 

There he was to join up with the Russian forces already there, who were threatened by the French general Massena. This meant crossing the snow-capped Alps in autumn, with winter approaching,  dependent on dubious Austrian advisers. Some historians even claim that his main Austrian staff officer was secretly  working for the French and leading Suvorov into a trap...

In spite of massive logistical problems and delays, dependent on totally inadequate Austrian provisions, Suvorov led his 18,000 Russian regulars and 5,000 Cossacks up and over the icy, sheer heights of the Gotthard pass, fighting and dislodging the French at one impossible-looking obstacle after the other. 

When he had finally battled his way through to where he was to meet up with the other Russian army, it was only to hear that it had already been  defeated by Masséna at Zürich. Now surrounded by 80,000 French troops, lodged in a Swiss monastery and looked after by the allied but basically helpless Swiss, it seemed the old war horse had reached the end of the line. 

But his remaining exhausted, worn-down officers and men rallied round, put up a spirited defence against the surprised French, even charging at them with bayonets and nearly capturing Massena himself. Checked but undefeated,  Suvorov then led his men through the deep snows of Panix Pass and into the 9,000-foot mountains of the Bündner Oberland, by then deep in snow. By the time the Russians had reached friendly territory at Chur on the Rhine, they had crossed five Alpine passes and lost thousands of men to the deadly mountains and French fire. 

But Suvorov had kept his army intact and saved 16,000 men. This marvel of strategic retreat earned him the nickname of the Russian Hannibal. He was awarded the title of Generalissimo of Russia and promised a grand reception and military triumph on his return to St Petersburg after Tsar Paul pulled out of the alliance and withdrew his forces from the war theatre. 

Instead, the vicissitudes of politics interfered again. The back-stabbing young Tsar cancelled everything and refused to even receive his most famous general on his return. Worn out, dispirited and ill, the old veteran died a few days afterwards on 18 May 1800 at Saint Petersburg. Meant to receive the funeral honors of a Generalissimo, he was buried as an ordinary field marshal on Paul's orders. Lord Whitworth, the British ambassador, and the poet Gavrila Derzhavin were the only 'persons of distinction' present at the funeral. His soldiers were there, however. After the service there was some difficulty

about getting the coffin through the entrance to its final resting place in a side chapel, whereupon a party of soldiers rushed to the front, seized the coffin and bore their hero aloft and through. 'No more nonsense!' they shouted, 'there is nobody who can stop Suvorov " Suvorov lies buried in the Church of the Annunciation in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. The simple inscription on his grave states, according to his own will: "Here lies Suvorov." 

Within a year after his death, Tsar Paul I was executed in his bedroom for his disastrous leadership by a band of dismissed officers. His son and successor Alexander I erected a statue to Suvorov's memory in the Field of Mars. 

Ever since, Russians have cherished the memory of Suvorov as one of their greatest generals and for his character and the excellence of his leadership. In an age when it had become an act of diplomacy, he restored the art of war as a science and an act of force. Forming a paternal relationship with his soldiers, he respected their courage and endurance and in return enjoyed the loyalty, respect and affection of his troops. 

Suvorov's guiding principle was to detect the weakest point of an enemy and focus a devastating attack upon that area. He would send forth his units in small groups as they arrived on the battlefield in order to sustain momentum. Suvorov utilized aimed fire instead of repeated barrages from line infantry and applied light infantrymen as skirmishers and sharpshooters. 

Highly flexible, he used a variety of army sizes and types of formations against different foes: squares against the Turks, lines against Poles and columns against the French. His form of correspondence, and especially his orders of the day, were highly original, deliberately aimed for effect. Suvorov's official reports were famously memorable and striking. 

He had all the contempt of a man of ability and action for ignorant favorites, politics and the court lifestyle of the run-of-the-mill aristocrats. But his eccentric behaviour hid a soldierly genius and an adherence to sound military principles, which stamped itself on the  Russian army up until the present age. His spirit of self-sacrifice and resolution in the face of losses showed up in many subsequent wars Russia was involved in, most notably the last world war. 

Suvorov considered Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte to be the greatest military commanders of all time. His high regard for Napoleon is interesting because he did not live to see the pinnacle of Napoleon's fame and the  later Napoleonic Wars. 

Military historians often debate the question of who would have won if Suvorov and Napoleon had ever met in battle on more or less equal terms. The Suvorov Museum opened in Saint Petersburg in 1900 to commemorate the centenary of the general's death. 

There are monuments to him in St. Petersburg, Focşani, Ochakov, Sevastopol, Izmail, Tulchin, Kobrin, Novaya Ladoga, Kherson, Timanovka, Simferopol, Tiraspol, Kaliningrad, Konchanskoye, Rymnik, Elm, Switzerland, and in the Swiss Alps.

Suvorov's greatest legacy however lay in the way he led and what he made his soldiers do. His succinct sayings and memorable witticisms, including the above-mentioned "train hard, fight easy", have remained surprisingly relevant in our own day and age. 

Military students treasure his "The bullet is a mad thing; only the bayonet knows what it is about", "Perish yourself but rescue your comrade!", "Large staffs- small victories", "Fire sparingly, but fire accurately", and "An attack against the enemy centre is inadvisable. An attack against the rear is the most advantageous of all..." He espoused three fundamental military principles: 

- an eye for situation and ground,

- speed,

- impetus. 

In contrast with the languid methods and tactics of his day, Suvorov marched rapidly, struck unexpectedly, attacked out of the blue from a variety of formations, and pursued relentlessly. ... Whether in combat against Polish rebels, Tatar tribesmen, Turkish janissaries, French revolutionaries, or Prussian grenadiers, Suvorov’s stress on thorough preparation and speedy execution was sufficient to produce threescore major and minor victories, often in the face of hopeless odds (- Bruce Menning). 

The New York Times wrote: "Suvorov, considered the most brilliant of all Czarist generals, carried out one of the most extraordinary feats in either the Alps or the history of warfare - a sort of late 18th-century Dunkirk achieved without rescuers." (Article "Where Cossacks Crossed the Alps" by Marcia Lieberman, March 6, 2007).

Once Suvorov asked a private: "How many stars are there in the sky?"  The soldier's answer "I don't know, but I'll count them at once!" delighted the general, as it showed a willingness to try to find a solution, no matter how impossible it seemed. 

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