Council in Fili: date, events and meaning. When did the military council take place in Fili?

So destiny ordered that Russia, whose population was always peaceful and hospitable, had to fight a lot during its entire existence. There were wars of conquest, but most of the time the Russian state was desperately defending against those who wanted to encroach on its territory of unfriendly countries.

In war, sometimes it is necessary to make a difficult choice, on which the destiny of the country depends. The Military Council in Fili 1812 is a good example of this.

Patriotic War of 1812

Not a single century has been peaceful for Russia. Each carried a threat of a severe war. So it was in the beginning of the XIX century. The ambitions of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte pushed him to an insane step - to start a war with the Russian Empire, which alone was not influenced by France, not counting Britain. Such an independent position of the most powerful northern country did not suit Napoleon, and he planned to inflict the defeat of the Russian army in the first battle, then to dictate to Alexander I his conditions.

The Russian emperor, an outstanding diplomat, understood perfectly well that Napoleon would try to impose his decisive battle on his armies, in which the chances of winning from Russia are not great. A year before the war, he said that he would better retreat to Kamchatka than sign a peace treaty in the capital. "Our winter and our climate will fight for us," said Alexander I. Time showed that his words were prophetic.

Borodino battle - behind Moscow

Having crossed the border river Neman in June 1812, the Great Army entered the territory of Russia. Following the approved plan, the Russian troops began an organized retreat. All three scattered armies hastened to unite with all their might. Near Smolensk in early August, the 1st and 2nd Armies successfully carried out this maneuver. Here Napoleon tried to impose a general battle on the commander of the Russian troops, Barclay de Tolly. The latter, realizing that the troops, exhausted by the unceasing retreat, had an insignificant chance of victory, preferred to save the army and ordered the soldiers to leave the city.

The main battle in this war between the Russian troops, which by that time was commanded by Alexander I appointed Mikhail Kutuzov, and the Napoleonic army took place near the village of Borodino on August 26 (September 7). It was not possible to defeat Napoleon, but in the Battle of Borodino, the Russian army, most importantly, fulfilled its main task - inflicting serious damage on the enemy forces.

Retreat to Moscow

September 8, trying to keep the army, Kutuzov ordered to retreat in the direction of Mozhaisk. After the battle of Borodino, all the officers were eager to enter a new battle with Napoleon. Kutuzov himself repeatedly spoke about this. But from the emperor's personal letter he found out that he would not receive the necessary reinforcement.

On September 13, an army from the village of Mamonova approached the positions chosen for her by General Bennigsen a few kilometers from Moscow. During the inspection of the site of the future battle, on Poklonnaya Hill, Barclay de Tolly and Ermolov, the commander-in-chief of the joint armies expressed a categorical opinion of his complete unfitness. Behind the Russian troops were a river, ravines and a huge city. This completely excluded the possibility of any maneuver. The defeated army could not fight at such an unsuccessful position.

Council in Fili - date and participants

In order to make a final decision on the fate of the battle and the capital, in the evening of September 13 Kutuzov convened a military council in Fili. It was conducted secretly, in the hut of the peasant Frolov.

The number and names of the officers present on it are known to us only from the words of eyewitnesses of these events, because the protocol was not kept in view of the secrecy. It is known that up to 15 people were present, except General Miloradovich, who is in the rearguard. Count of Rostopchin, who arrived on the eve of the visit, was not invited to the council in Fili.

Opinion of the council members

From the letters and memories of the participants it is known that the first to take the floor was General LL Bennigsen, who asked the question: "Will the army take the battle or surrender Moscow?" He himself was determined to a new battle. He was supported by most of the officers present who wanted to get revenge for Borodino. Bennigsen emphasized that a new battle is necessary to maintain the morale of the army, the surrender of the capital will undermine it.

Next came the word of the former army commander Barclay de Tolly, who said that the position for the battle of the Russian troops is the most unsuitable, and therefore offered to move to Vladimir. About Moscow, he said that now for the salvation of the country, it is not the capital that is important, but the army, and it is this that should be kept in every way.

Barclay de Tolly's opinion was supported only by Osterman-Tolstoy, Tol and Raevsky. The rest of the officers either supported Bennigsen, or offered to move toward Napoleon's army.

Heavy choice is the fate of the commander

The Council in Fili did not allow a common opinion. Voting, too, was not. The whole weight of the responsibility for making the decision fell on the shoulders of M. Kutuzov. And he made a choice that astonished Bennigsen, who was sure that the commander-in-chief would take his side. Kutuzov ordered to leave the capital and retreat to Tarutino. As members of the council later recalled, everyone was terrified of this decision. The surrender of the capital to the enemy - this has not happened in the history of the Russian state. To go for it, it was necessary a lot of courage. In addition, Kutuzov could not have known in advance how the emperor would react to his decision.

Night Kutuzov spent in the hut, where the council held in Fili. According to eyewitnesses, he did not sleep, walked about the room. It was heard how the commander approached the table where the map was. They say that from the room there was also a muffled sob. No one was so hard this time, as the commander-in-chief.

Military council in Fili - historical significance

An unprecedented decision at that time - the surrender of the ancient capital to the enemy - was of great importance for the subsequent course of the war. The Napoleonic army was stuck in Moscow, but the Russian military forces managed to be retained. In the Tarutino camp the army rested and became stronger. And the French were freezing in the burning capital. The surrender of Moscow is the beginning of the end of the Great Army. Napoleon never expects words from Alexander I about the world, and very soon Russian troops will drive the invaders back to the border.

If Kutuzov agreed with the majority of officers, most likely his army would have lain near the walls of Moscow, and left the whole country without protection.

The military council in Fili for some reason is rather poorly represented in art. Which, by the way, is amazing. Of paintings, the most famous work is the famous painting "The Council in Fili" by the battalist A. Kivshenko. For the basis of his creation, the artist took the scene of the council from Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.