Not many Americans know about Mikail Kutuzov but in Russia, he is considered a hero. I know about him by reading War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. Learning about Kutuzov will help you know how brave he was and that he was a leader.
People don’t know Kutuzov’s birth date. There are 2 theories of when he was born. He was either born on September 16 ,1745 or september 5,1745. He was born in St. Petersburg. He and his father served in the Russian army. Kutuzov became a math teacher in 1760 in military school. He was only 15 years old.
Kutuzov is known for his wars to save Russia. Napoleon Bonaparte was the leader of the French army who tried to invade Russia. There were two battles that are famous. The first one is Austerlitz in 1805. It was Napoleon’s greatest victory. Because of that, Kutuzov was removed from command of his army. Seven years later, Napoleon invaded Russia. The leader of Russia made Kutuzov commander again. The second battle that is famous was the battle of Borodino. Nearly 75,000 soldiers died in the battle. Neither army won. The difference was that Napoleon’s army was far from home and couldn’t get supplies. Kutuzov was in Russia with a lot of supplies.
After Borodino, Napoleon sent a letter to Kutuzov asking if they could make a settlement to stop the fighting. Kutuzov refused this offer because it would make Russia angry, they wanted Napoleon to go back to France. Kutuzov was a good leader because he told his soldiers to wait patiently until it was time to attack. Kutuzov forced Napoleon to retreat. Sadly, Kutuzov died when the Russians were chasing Napoleon back to France.
It’s good to learn about the history of another country to learn what happened in the past. It can help you solve problems to learn about the actions people did. History has solutions for problems people have today.
Resources
Modern World History
Grossman,Mark.’’Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich.’’ World Military Leaders: A biographical Dictionary, Facts on File on File, 2007. Modern World History.
ProQuest
Robert Crowly and Geoffrey Parker. The Reader’s Companion to Military History. Dec 1,1996.
Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace