The Indian campaign of Paul I inspired the elite of Russia and the British to kill the emperor and consign his plans to modernize the country into oblivion. The failed Indian campaign of Paul I

« Indian campaign» Alexander the Great It’s usually presented to us as a kind of “surprise” - they say, look where Macedonia is and where India is - but a man has arrived, and with an army at that! The edge of the earth, a place where no “white” man has ever set foot! And in general, why does he need it, this India? You’ve done the job (read: conquered the Persians) and go home!

And all this would be so if not for two BUTs:

Firstly, Alexander did not begin his campaign in India from Macedonia. Those who wish can take a look at the map themselves and see how far it is from Bactria, which had been conquered by the Macedonians by that time, to India.
Secondly... it is known that the Persian king Darius I in 519 - 518. BC subjugated part of the territory along the Indus, and that Indian satrapy was part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. It is also known that in armies Persian kings, who fought with the Greeks, there were also Indian warriors. Considering that Alexander the Great declared himself none other than the heir of the Achaemenids, why shouldn’t the heir of such a brilliant dynasty try to regain what was lost by his less fortunate predecessors?

As you can see, there was nothing fantastic, much less extravagant, in the Macedonians’ attempt to conquer India. Alexander the Great, in general, was an extremely prudent and rational person.

It was against this background, against his own person, and having finally conquered Bactria, in the late spring of 327 BC, Alexander began his campaign in India.

The trip was prepared very carefully. Having received new reinforcements from Macedonia and included Asian contingents in his army, Alexander had, according to the unanimous testimony of sources, 120 thousand soldiers. This was three times more than in the army with which Alexander landed in Asia Minor. The foot squad now consisted of 11 “regiments”.

Before the start of the expedition, Alexander carried out significant changes in his army: the number of individual military formations was increased; people who were promoted during the reprisal against aristocrats hostile to the tsar and thereby proved their loyalty were placed in command positions; Military formations were formed that acted independently on the orders of the tsar and carried out the special tasks assigned to them.

The immediate reason for organizing a military campaign in India was the fact that its western regions in the Indus Valley were (or at least were considered) the eastern outskirts of the Achaemenid state. The Macedonian king had in mind to proclaim and strengthen his power there as the “king of Asia” and the legal successor of the Achaemenids.

Map of the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great. Please note - the names of states and localities are given as “indicative”, for example, there could not have been any “Seleucid Kingdom” during Alexander’s campaign in India - it would be formed much later, on the ruins of his empire

The army of Alexander the Great in Central Asia and Northern India

Setting out from Bakt, Alexander's troops overcame Hindu Kush; finding yourself in Paropamisade, Alexander moved to the river. Coffeen ( modern Kabul). At the same time, he sent an envoy to the rulers of the regions located on the right bank of the Indus (the most significant of them was Ambhi, the ruler of Taxila, whom Arrian calls Taxilom- the name given to him by Alexander in accordance with his title), inviting them to come forward and demonstrate recognition of the supreme power of the Macedonian king. They complied with Alexander's demand, brought him rich gifts and promised to give him 25 elephants. According to one version of the legend, Ambhi-Taksil offered Alexander his services to fight against other Indian tribes even when he was in Sogdians. Obviously, he himself was interested in the destruction of left-bank Indian societies.

Without offering resistance, Ambhi-Taksil and other rulers who surrendered with him voluntarily opened the way for Alexander to Punjab.

Punjab, which in the spring of 326 BC. The first of the main Indian territories to be invaded, was at that time fragmented into many small states. The most important states were those whose kings were Taxil And Por , as the Greeks called them. Taxilus submitted to Alexander voluntarily, since he was at enmity with Porus and hoped to find support from Alexander in the fight against his rival.

Porus was defeated in a fierce battle on the banks of the Jhelama River(Hidaspes among the Greeks), wounded and captured.

Alexander, having received information from Porus and from a certain Chandragupta, who had fled from Magadha, about the presence of a strong army of 200 thousand infantry, 20 thousand cavalry, 2 thousand chariots and 2 thousand elephants at the king of Magadha, nevertheless, he was confident in the final success of his campaign in the Ganges valley, since he knew that King Dhana Nanda is not very firmly on the throne. But Alexander’s army did not share his confidence in success and resolutely refused to continue the campaign beyond the Beas River (Giphasis among the Greeks).

Alexander divided his army into two parts. He entrusted one of them, which included three “regiments” of infantry, half of the warrior-horsemen and all the hired horsemen, to Hephaestion and Perdiccas; Allied Indian troops also joined them. Hephaestion and Perdiccas received orders to capture Pevkelaoditu(modern Yusafzai) and go to the Indus; there they had to build bridges to cross to the eastern bank.

The ruler of Pevkelaodita Ast was in hostile relations with Ambhi-Taxil. Alexander's troops, acting in alliance with the latter, were the natural enemies of Asta; This, as well as, of course, the desire to preserve independence, apparently explains the resistance that he offered to the invaders who invaded his country. Perdiccas and Hephaestion, after a 30-day siege, took and destroyed the main city of the country; Ast himself died, and power was transferred to Sangay.

At the head of the remaining troops, Alexander went north to areas inhabited by tribes that the Greeks called Aspasii, Gurayi and Assakens; Aspasias and Assakens are identified with the Asavaks of Indian sources. Having crossed the Khoy River (modern Kunar) with great difficulty, he invaded Bajuar and learned that the local residents (among the Greeks - aspasia) gather in the mountains and fortified cities, where they expect to organize defense. Expecting to immediately defeat this unexpected resistance, Alexander left the bulk of the infantry to follow the marching order, and he himself rushed at the head of the cavalry and 800 mounted Macedonian infantry into the interior of the country.

Approaching the first city that he encountered on his way, Alexander drove the Aspasians behind the walls. During the skirmish he was slightly wounded. The next day, his soldiers easily captured the city. Many of the defenders disappeared into the mountains; The Macedonians killed all the prisoners, and the city was destroyed by order of the king. Then Alexander led his troops to the city of Andaka, which surrendered without a fight. There he left Craterus, ordering him to suppress resistance and destroy cities that did not recognize the authority of the Macedonian “king of Asia.”

Alexander himself, building on his success, headed to the Evaspla River, where the ruler of the Aspasians was located. On the second day of his journey he approached a coastal city; residents set fire to their houses and fled to the mountains. During the persecution, many of them were killed; The ruler of the Aspasians also died, falling at the hands of Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Having crossed the mountains, Alexander approached the city of Arigeus (modern. Banjaur); here the inhabitants also set their homes on fire and disappeared. In Arigaea, Alexander united with Craterus, ordered him to restore the city, settling there the surrounding residents and soldiers who had become unfit for military service. New Arigey was to become a stronghold of Macedonian power in the area.

Indian nobility greets the conqueror - Alexander the Great

Macedonian army on the way to the Indus

Meanwhile, the Aspasia concentrated in the mountains. Alexander attacked them in three columns: one led by himself, the other by Leonnatus, and the third by Ptolemy. In a fierce battle, the resistance of the Aspasians was suppressed. According to available information, more than 40 thousand prisoners and more than 230 thousand heads of cattle fell into the hands of the winner. Alexander ordered the best bulls to be sent to Macedonia.

From here Alexander went into the country Assakenov, passing the region of the Gurays and crossing the river with great difficulty. Guray (modern Landai) below the confluence of the Panj-kora and Swat rivers. The Assakenes also prepared to defend themselves from the “king of Asia,” but as Alexander approached, they dispersed to their cities, hoping to sit out behind their walls. As a result, the initiative was in the hands of Alexander, and he approached Massage- the main political and administrative center of the Assakenes. In addition to the inhabitants, the city was defended by mercenaries collected from various places in India.

Military operations began with a foray by the Assakens. Hoping to defeat them in open battle, Alexander ordered his soldiers to retreat. The Assakens rushed after them. When Alexander decided that they were already far enough away from the city walls, the phalanx turned around and went on the offensive. The Assakenes could not withstand her blow: 200 of their warriors died in hand-to-hand combat, the rest took refuge in the city. The next day, bringing up the siege engines, the Macedonians broke through the walls, but the resistance of the Assakenes forced Alexander to stop the assault. On the third day, the besieged were subjected to fire from the siege tower using bows and throwing machines. When the fourth day arrived, Alexander again led the phalanx to the walls and ordered a bridge to be thrown from the tower at the breach site. The hypaspists were supposed to use it to break into Massaga. The bridge collapsed under the weight of the bodies, and the attack failed. On the fifth day, Alexander was going to repeat it, but after the local ruler was killed by an arrow fired from a throwing machine, the defenders of Massaga decided to begin negotiations for surrender.

Judging by subsequent events, the main issue for Alexander was the fate of the Indian mercenaries defending Massaga. They agreed that they would join Alexander's army. The mercenaries left the city and camped nearby. At night the Macedonians attacked them and killed everyone. Then Massaga was captured. Some time later, Alexander took the city of Ory (modern Udegram) by storm; the inhabitants of another city, Bazira (modern Birkot), after a fierce battle with the Macedonians, fled to the rock Aorn(Bar Sar in the Pir Sar mountain range). Residents of other surrounding towns also gathered there.

While in the Swat region, Alexander captured another important point - Nisa, at the foot of Kohi Nor. An embassy of 30 noble Niseans, led by a local ruler, came to Alexander Akoufis. Those who came found Alexander in the guise of a formidable warrior - who had not yet washed off the road dust, had not taken off his helmet and had not let go of his spear. The Niseans prostrated themselves before the king; in essence, this was the same privilege that Alexander strenuously sought from the Greeks and Macedonians, but official propaganda, of course, portrayed the matter in such a way that the warlike appearance of the conqueror of the universe filled the hearts of the ambassadors with horror.

Alexander's agreement with Akufis is striking in its gentleness. Alexander granted Nisa freedom and autonomy (use of her own laws), confirmed her laws and political system (aristocratic, according to the Greeks); Akufis retained his position, becoming, by order of Alexander, the ruler of the city. Alexander received 300 horsemen from Nisa; he demanded another hundred local aristocrats, but Akufis joked him to refuse this.

In Nisa, Alexander organized a noisy festival in honor of Dionysus and received the most active participation. Alexander's behavior in this city is in good agreement with all his previous policies. As in the Middle East and Iran, he seeks to win over the local aristocracy. However, having made certain representatives of the aristocratic elite his followers, having pacified certain areas, the Macedonian king had not yet eliminated the resistance. Its center became Aorn.

Alexander began operations against him by confirming his power on the western bank of the Indus, including in Peucelaotis. Having occupied the city of Embolima near Aorn, Alexander set up a warehouse for food and equipment there. He entrusted the organization of Macedonian power here to Craterus, and he himself went to Aorn, who stood on the rock. Taking this natural fortification was a difficult task. Rumors spread that Hercules himself tried to take possession of the rock, but was forced to retreat. Conversations about Hercules spurred Alexander on: he must and can do what the hero, his ancestor, failed to do, and surpass Hercules himself with his exploits.

When Alexander camped in the immediate vicinity of Aorn, local residents came to him, promising to show the way to where it was easiest and most convenient to take possession of this point. Alexander sent Ptolemy with them at the head of a detachment of lightly armed warriors and hypaspists. Having climbed a difficult road (in the Una-Sar mountain range, running parallel to Pir-Sar), the next day the king led his phalanx to storm the mountain stronghold. The Indians repulsed the attack. On the third day of fighting, it was decided to attack the defenders from two sides: Ptolemy’s detachment and the royal one. Alexander himself moved along the same path that Ptolemy had used, but he only managed to connect with the latter. The new assault on Aorn ended in vain: the Indians put up stubborn resistance and forced the Greek-Macedonian troops to retreat. Then Alexander decided to build an embankment in order to fire at the rock with bows and throwing weapons. On the fourth day of work, the Macedonians also captured a neighboring mountain, the same in height as Aorn. The successful continuation of the work made the defense of Aorn hopeless, and its defenders offered negotiations to Alexander, promising to surrender the rock. At night they began to disperse; Alexander did not interfere with them. He ascended the abandoned stronghold at the head of a detachment of approximately 700 bodyguards and hypaspists; at the sign given to them, they rushed at the Assakes and killed many.

Aorn was a strategically important stronghold in the country of the Assakenes, and Alexander placed his garrison there. He entrusted the command of the detachment to the Indian Sisikott (Sasigupta), who had previously served with Bessus and then transferred to Alexander - an appointment that undoubtedly played as fundamental a role as the alliances with the rulers of Nisa and Taxila.

Macedonian Army in North-West India

The road to the Indus was open for Alexander; in his rear there were pacified territories. Having taken Dirthu- a city abandoned by its inhabitants, having taken part in an elephant hunt, cutting through dense thickets in an almost impenetrable jungle, it came to the banks of a great river. There, the soldiers built ships from the timber, and the Greek-Macedonian army sailed downstream, to where, having built bridges, Hephaestion and Perdiccas were waiting for Alexander. Here he was again met by the envoys of Ambhi-Taksila with gifts and the news that the latter was giving him Mr. Taxila, one of the largest in North-West India. At dawn the next day, Alexander transported his troops to the eastern bank of the Indus.

Alexander's stay in Taxila was marked by the confirmation and consolidation of previously established allied relations (and, in fact, Macedonian dominance) with its ruler. With his power, Alexander annexed the possessions Ambhi-Taxila all the neighboring lands that he coveted. It seemed that contractual relations had also been established with the old enemy Abisar.

Alexander retained power in Taxila with Ambhi-Taxila, but left his garrison in the city and appointed Philip, the son of Mahata, as satrap. He himself moved on, heading to the Hydaspes River (modern Jhelum). On the eastern bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander was awaited by the troops of Porus (Paurava), who owned a vast kingdom on the plain between the Hydaspes and Akesina (modern river Chenab). Porus's political line was apparently determined by his hostile relations with Ambhi-Taxil and friendly relations with Abisar. Alexander sent his close associate Cleochares to Porus with a demand to pay tribute and meet him at the border. According to legend, Porus replied that he would fulfill only one of these demands: he would meet Alexander at the border, but armed. A collision was inevitable.

Having outposted Porus on the left bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander undertook a series of deceptive movements on the right bank. At night, his riders made such a noise as if they were starting a crossing, but that was where the matter ended. In the end, Porus stopped paying attention to the enemy. Having lulled the vigilance of Porus, Alexander crossed to the other bank above the point where his camp was located. Once on the left bank of the Hydaspes, Alexander concentrated the cavalry and hypaspists on the right flank; placed horse archers in front of the line of horsemen; on both flanks - lightly armed infantry. Rushing at the head of the horsemen towards the enemy, he ordered the infantry to follow.

A detachment led by the son of Porus tried to prevent Alexandra from crossing and further advancing. This operation ended in the defeat of the Indians and the death of their commander.

Now Porus himself moved towards Alexander. He had about 4 thousand horsemen, 300 war chariots, 200 elephants and 30 thousand infantry. War elephants were lined up in one line in front, infantry behind them, and cavalry and chariots on the flanks. Alexander decided to strike the enemy’s left flank with most of his cavalry; He sent the rest of the horsemen under the command of Kan against the enemy’s right flank with the task of going behind the Indians’ rear when the mounted battle began. The attacks of the Greco-Macedonian cavalry caused confusion in the army of Porus, and Alexander struck another blow deep into the center of the enemy formation. The Indians rushed towards the elephants. The elephant leaders drove the animals against Alexander's horsemen. And then he brought the infantry into battle. Elephants trampled Alexander's infantrymen, scattering the phalanx; Porus's cavalry attacked the Greco-Macedonian horsemen.

The latter again defeated the Indians, and they again rushed to the elephants. Meanwhile, Alexander's soldiers pushed the elephants into a bottleneck; wounding them with darts, they forced the animals to turn against the Indians themselves. The pursuit and beating of those running began. The Indians were attacked from the rear by troops under the command of Craterus, who had by that time crossed to the eastern bank of the Hydaspes. Porus himself, who showed exceptional energy and great personal courage in battle, was captured. The battle took place in April - May 326 BC. To commemorate the victory, Alexander ordered the release commemorative coin a dekadrachm depicting a Macedonian horseman attacking an Indian king seated on an elephant.

Alexander used his victory to force Porus into an alliance with the winner. What was said ultimately explains the courtesies addressed to Porus and the emphasized admiration for his courage.

Tradition remembers that in response to Alexander’s question: “How should I treat you?” - Porus replied: “Royally,” and when Alexander wanted to hear a more precise answer, he said: “This answer contains everything.” Alexander not only preserved Porus’s kingdom (of course, under his supreme authority), but also annexed other lands to his possessions. On this basis, an alliance was concluded between the winner and the vanquished.

Alexander founded two more cities on the banks of the Hydaspes: Nicaea(“victorious”; the name is given in honor of the victory over Porus) and Bucephalia(the city received its name in memory of the royal horse, which died shortly after the Battle of Hydaspes from wounds and old age).

The victory at Hydaspes made Alexander master of the Punjab. His power was recognized by the neighboring people, whom Aristobulus called chief officers, and Ptolemy - chapters; Alexander subjugated this people to Porus. Ambassadors from Abisar and the heads of some other Indian societies appeared with expressions of submission.

Meanwhile, in Alexander’s rear, the Assakenes rebelled again. Having sent Philip and Tiriaspes to suppress the rebellion, the king went further east. Having crossed Akesina, he found himself embroiled in a war with yet another Porus; chasing him, Alexander approached the river. Hydraot (modern Ravi) and, having sent Hephaestion to fight the enemy, crossed it. On the eastern bank of Hydraot lived independent Indian tribes, of which the most powerful were Cathay. They were going to resist Alexander; the center of the struggle was to become the city of Sangaly.

Having occupied Pipramy (a city belonging to the Adraist tribe) without a fight, Alexander approached Sangal. The Cathays set up a camp on a hill in front of the city, surrounded by three rows of carts. The battle began with Macedonian horse archers. Then the king led his cavalry, which was on the left flank, against the enemy’s right flank. Very soon he had to make sure that his calculations were wrong and that the horsemen could not act here. Then, dismounting, he led the infantry into the attack. The Cathayan resistance on the first two rows of carts was crushed, and the survivors took refuge in the city. At night, the Cathays tried to leave Sangal, but they were intercepted by Alexander’s horsemen: those Cathays who did not die in the battle returned outside the city walls. Alexander began to besiege the city.

He blocked the exits from it with a double palisade, and placed reinforced guards and battering machines near the wall. During these preparations, defectors came to him and told him that the Cathays were going to once again try to escape from Sangal at the lake, where there was no stockade. By order of Alexander, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, blocked their road with carts and piles of stakes; In a night battle, the Cathays were defeated and returned to the city again. Meanwhile, Porus came to Alexander with his troop and elephants. The Cathays abandoned their forays. The Macedonians built a tunnel under the walls, and battering machines began working. Finally, Sangal was taken by storm. During the battle, according to Arrian, 17 thousand Indians died and 70 thousand were captured. Residents of other cities fled, and Alexander destroyed Sangaly to the ground.

Home!

Having pacified the tribes living east of Hydraot, having received expressions of submission from the local kings, Alexander believed that he could now continue his movement to the east without hindrance. He went to the river. Hyphasis (modern Bias), hoping to cross it and invade the Ganges valley. Indian allies told Alexander that beyond Hyphasis lay the richest country; this meant the state of the Nandas, which occupied the Ganges Valley and some regions of Western India and the Deccan. However, on his way, Alexander encountered an unexpected obstacle - the reluctance of his soldiers and even generals to go east.

The eight-year grueling campaign tired the people. They saw no point in exposing their lives to more and more dangers. The forces of the future enemy seemed incredibly large to them: thousands of elephants, tens of thousands of chariots, hundreds of thousands of infantry. Added to this were the most difficult, unusual natural conditions- dense tropical forests infested with snakes and dangerous predators, continuous heavy rains and thunderstorms.

Alexander tried to destroy defeatist sentiments. At the gathering of warriors, he did everything to captivate them with the prospect of conquering the entire world - from one end of the World Ocean to the other; spoke about the untold riches with which he had already showered and would continue to shower his warriors. It was all in vain. Ken answered Alexander, and what he said fit into one short word: “Home!”

The next day, Alexander said that he would go east at the head of volunteers, but there were no such volunteers. For three days he sat in his tent, not allowing anyone to approach him, and finally was forced to announce that he would not lead his army further east. He understood well that it was impossible to fight without soldiers or against their wishes.

Thus, on the banks of the river. Hyphasis Alexander's campaign of conquest was over. It was 326 BC.

Return of Alexander the Great's troops from India

A little earlier, during the fighting in the territory between the Indus and Hyphasis, Alexander had a mature plan to turn his Macedonian-Asian power into a monarchy covering the entire civilized world. On the banks of the Hyphasis, Alexander suddenly realized that all his victories in India had been won in vain, that he did not have the strength not only to continue his campaigns, but also to retain what he had conquered.

They say that once Kalan - one of the Digambri (the Greeks called them “naked sages” - gymnosophists) demonstrated a parable to Alexander: having spread out a withered skin in front of him, he first stepped on one, then the other edge - and the opposite edges rose in turn, then stood in the middle, and the whole skin continued to lie on the ground. Alexander had to understand that he should be in the center of his kingdom, and not wander around the outskirts.

Be that as it may, Alexander made a decision.

He left India not of his own free will, but by the will of the gods. It was announced to the army: on the eve of the upcoming crossing of the Hyphasis, which opens the way to the Ganges valley, the king made sacrifices, and they turned out to be unfavorable; the will of the gods forced Alexander to cancel his intentions. By order of the king, 12 huge altars were erected on the banks of the Hyphasis and sacrifices were made to the gods; Around the camp at a great distance from it, the Macedonians built a deep ditch, and in the camp itself they allegedly built two-person tents with huge (5 cubits, i.e. approximately 2.5 m) boxes and stalls for horses, twice as large as usual; weapons were scattered at the site of the camp and around it, implausibly large sizes so that the Indians understand who they are dealing with.

Retreating to the Hydaspes, Alexander transferred power over the entire territory between this river and the Hyphasis to Porus; he was forced to appoint his old enemy Abisar as ruler of the northern regions. However, although the latter was called a satrap, no significant changes occurred in his real power and actual independence. Alexander appointed Philip, the son of Mahata, as satrap of the province west of India to the borders of Bactria.

A large flotilla was waiting for Alexander on the Hydaspes, he was going to sail down this river and further along the Indus to the Indian Ocean, the army was supposed to go on foot: one part under the command of Craterus along the right bank of the river, and the other under the leadership of Hephaestion along the left. War elephants also went with the infantrymen. The flotilla was commanded by the outstanding Greek naval commander Nearchus, son of Androtim. Nearchus played a prominent role at Alexander's court. At one time, he supported Alexander when he wanted to marry the daughter of Pixodarus, and was expelled from Macedonia.

The army and fleet moved down the Hydaspes without initially encountering any serious difficulties. The surrounding tribes one way or another found themselves forced to recognize the power of the Macedonian king: some voluntarily and peacefully, others after skirmishes. At the confluence of Hydaspes and Akesina, Alexander's ships fell into powerful whirlpools. The “long” warships suffered heavy losses: the waves broke the oars of the lower row, two ships collided, many were seriously damaged, and many soldiers and sailors died. With difficulty reaching a quiet backwater, Nearchus began repair work; Alexander himself went on a raid on the surrounding tribes. When the repairs were completed, the fleet continued its voyage downstream. Ground forces three detachments, led by Hephaestion, Craterus and Ptolemy, moved in the same direction. At the confluence of Akesina and Hydraot, they had to wait for the king.

Meanwhile, Alexander, at the head of a detachment consisting of hypaspists, foot and horse warriors, horse and foot archers and Agrians, rushed through the waterless desert into the country of the Mallas (Mallawa). The prospect of new clashes with Indian tribes caused an explosion of discontent in the Greco-Macedonian army. However, Alexander managed to persuade his soldiers that this expedition was necessary. After a short time, he approached one of the enemy cities and took it by storm. The king sent Perdiccas to another city, but the latter, finding the city empty, began to pursue the fugitives; Only those who managed to escape into the swamps were saved.

After a short rest, Alexander moved to Hydraot at night and approached the river at dawn. Many Mallas had already crossed to the eastern bank, and Alexander led his troops after them. Those mallas who did not have time to hide were killed, but the majority hid in a seemingly impregnable fortress. The Macedonian infantry immediately took possession of it; everyone who defended it was made slaves.

The next city (according to Arrian - the Brahmans) was taken by storm, and almost all of its defenders died. Having subsequently captured several settlements left by the Mallas and defeated them in a battle on the eastern bank of Hydraot, the troops approached another city. During the assault, Alexander was the first to climb the wall; fired from bows and throwing weapons, showered with darts, he jumped inside the fortress. There, leaning against the wall, Alexander stubbornly repelled the attacks of the Malls and killed many, including their leader. Meanwhile, the ladder he was climbing broke. Only three managed to climb the wall with the king: Abreya, Peucest and Limnaeus. Abreus was immediately killed, Alexander was wounded in the chest. He became weak, having lost a lot of blood, and fell; Limnaeus and Peucestes defended him. Breaking ladders, the Macedonians, with great difficulty overcoming the earthen wall, went to the aid of Alexander. The fight became more and more tense. Finally, the Macedonians managed to break the bolt and open the gate. Having burst into the city, Alexander’s soldiers killed everyone, including women and children.

When the arrow was removed from Alexander's wound, blood gushed out and he lost consciousness.

The news of Alexander's wound reached the Macedonian camp, set up at the confluence of Akesina and Hydraotes, and caused great concern there. Alexander ordered to be urgently taken to the camp. Approaching the place where the army was stationed by ship, he ordered the tent to be removed so that everyone could see him. At first, the warriors thought that they were carrying a lifeless body, but when the ship docked, loud screams and joyful crying were heard all around. The hypaspists brought a stretcher, but Alexander demanded a horse; Greeted by the soldiers, he reached the tent. Everyone should have known that he, Alexander, was alive, healthy and fully combat-ready.

Alexander the Great on the shores of the Indian Ocean

Alexander's actions forced the survivors of the defeat of the Malls and Oxidrak (Shudrak) to recognize his power. The fleet sailed down the Akesina again; At its confluence with the Indus, Alexander united with Perdiccas. Moving south, he again had to establish his power over the surrounding tribes and rulers, either by peaceful means or by force. The regions of Musican, Oxican and Samba were under his hand. At the end of July 325 BC. Alexander arrived south, to Patala (modern Bakhmanabad); when Macedonian troops entered this country, the population fled. By order of the king, Hephaestion began to build a fortress there; in the Indus delta, at the confluence of the river with the Indian Ocean, Alexander built a port and boathouses.

While construction was underway, a voyage was undertaken down the right branch of the Indus. Not knowing the river, the sailors found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. Moreover, the next day after sailing, a storm began: the wind blew against the current and drove the water back; many ships were seriously damaged, some were broken. The Macedonians hastily moored to the shore, and Alexander sent his men to search for pilots. Swimming resumed. Now the fleet was led by Indians who knew the area well. When the wind blew again from the Indian Ocean, they took the ships into the backwaters. Meanwhile, the tide came and Alexander's fleet found itself on land. The sailors, who had never encountered such phenomena before, were frightened; only the beginning of the tide calmed them down a little. The tide damaged a number of ships and had to be repaired. In the end, the difficult multi-day expedition ended: Alexander's ships dropped anchor off the island of Killuta at the mouth of the Indus. Alexander himself went out to the ocean on several ships. Having walked 200 stadia (about 37 km), he approached an island lying in the open sea, but decided not to sail further. Returning to the site, Alexander, allegedly at the behest of his “father” Ammon, staged a solemn sacrifice to Poseidon, throwing golden cups into the sea. He prayed to God to guide his fleet safely to the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates.

Alexander spent several months in Patala and the Indus Delta. Summer trade winds prevented them from going out into the ocean, and Alexander used this time to gain a foothold in the lower reaches of the river. At the confluence of the Indus into the ocean (in the area of modern Karachi), on his order, the construction of another port and boathouses began. At the head of units of hypaspists, cavalry and infantry, the king went to the nearby river. Arabian. At his approach, the Arabites who lived there fled; Alexander suppressed the resistance of the Orites. Some of the Orites, together with the Gedros, set out to defend the narrow passage to Gedrosia (modern Baluchistan), however, as soon as they learned of Alexander’s approach, they fled, and their leaders surrendered to the Macedonian king. Alexander appointed Apollophanes as satrap of the region of the Orites; the troops left in the new province were subjugated by Leonnata. The latter had to wait for the arrival of the fleet, found another city, a stronghold of Greco-Macedonian domination, and generally arrange the affairs and life of the Orites so that the satrap, their ruler, would enjoy the favor of the population.

In September 325 BC. a campaign began through Gedrosia and Carmania to Persida. Alexander entrusted part of his army to Craterus and sent it north to Arachosia; from there, through the country of the Ariaspes, she had to go south to connect with the king.

Alexander's soldiers walked near the ocean coast. At first, the road led through an area where myrtle grew abundantly. The aromatic resin produced by this plant - myrrh - was very highly valued in ancient times; trade in myrrh brought enormous profits. The Phoenician merchants accompanying Alexander's army did not fail to take advantage of the opportunity: they collected myrrh, loaded mules and donkeys with precious luggage, and transported it to the west. They also mined the fragrant roots of spikenard.

After some time, Alexander's army entered a dry, deserted desert. Having sent a certain Toant, the son of Mandrodor, to search for the inhabitants, Alexander learned that he had met only a few fishing families living in squalid huts made of shell rock and fish bones. They obtained water (not completely fresh) in pits that they dug on the seashore. There was nowhere to get food or drinking water; The soldiers endured the difficult road, the scorching sun, hunger and thirst. The heavy rains brought by the monsoons were no less dangerous. During one of these rains, the stream at which the halt was made overflowed its banks; Many people died, and things that belonged to Alexander also perished.

The army had to be provided with food, and Alexander devoted all his efforts to this. Finding with great difficulty a place where there was plenty of bread, he sent it to the soldiers, sealing the packs with his seal. The drivers and guards broke the seals without delivering the bread to the place, and the king did not dare to punish them. In order to feed and water the hungry, demoralized army at least at the end of the march, Alexander sent messengers to the surrounding satraps with orders to deliver food to the borders of the desert regions. The royal command was fulfilled.

The end of the Macedonian army's campaign in India

In November 325, Alexander arrived in Pura, the capital of Gedrosia. Thus, the difficult campaign was completed. However, by that time there was no expected calm in India. Alexander was informed that Philip, the satrap he had left in India, had been killed. True, the Macedonian guards caught and destroyed the murderers, but Alexander himself was forced to limit himself to letters to Eudemus and Ambhi-Taxilus, so that they would take over the administration of the province of Philip until the appointment of a new satrap.

Meanwhile, Nearchus and Onesicritus arrived to Alexander with a report on their voyage along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The expedition was commanded by Nearchus. He sailed from the mouth of the Indus when the trade winds stopped blowing, in late December 325 BC. He had at his disposal up to 150 ships with a crew of about 5 thousand people - Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks (mainly Cretans and other islanders).

Nearchus was supposed to explore the coastal sea route from the mouth of the Indus to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates into the Persian Gulf. Nearchus did not encounter any serious difficulties on the road. Day after day, the ships began their next journey in the morning, and the rowers worked their oars to the monotonous exclamations of the kelevsts. Going ashore, the sailors mined fresh water; sometimes you had to go deep into the mainland to get it. The naval commander carefully recorded where he happened to pass between steep cliffs, where - between coastal islands and the mainland, where there were underwater rocks, and especially - harbors convenient for anchorages.

The voyage was marked by a collision at the mouth of the river. Tomer with local residents armed with heavy spears with burnt tips. They did not know metal or metal tools, they used stone axes, and wore animal skins or fish skins. Overgrown thick hair people tearing fish apart with their nails made a strong impression on the sailors.

Further to the west, Nearchus sailed along the coasts inhabited by tribes of fishermen; the Greeks called them ichthyophages (fish eaters). Residents of one village - Kalama - presented Nearchus with sheep, accustomed to eat fish due to the lack of grass; the other - Kissa - fled when the Greek-Macedonian fleet appeared. Here the sailors captured the goats and also captured the pilot, the Gedrosian Hydracus, who led the expedition to the shores of Karmania.

Having left India, Nearchus reached the goal of his journey and arrived with a report to Alexander.

Thus, Alexander's campaign of conquest in India ended.

The stubborn resistance of the Indians, apparently, made a great impression on Alexander’s soldiers, and fatigue from the many years of campaigning also took its toll. Probably, a significant role was also played by the fact that India, at least its northwestern part, turned out to be far from being such a rich object of robbery and profit as expected at the beginning of the campaign (the notes of the participants in the campaign do not mention the seizure of gold and jewelry in India ). Alexander was forced to retreat.

From the subject territories of Sindh and Punjab (west of Jhelum), two satrapies were created by Alexander; in the rest of the territory local rulers were left, who now found themselves dependent on the satraps. Immediately after the departure of Alexander's army, unrest among the Macedonians themselves and anti-Macedonian uprisings of the Indians began in India; the result of this was the rapid expulsion of the conquerors from the country.

Alexander's campaign was not as significant an event for India as it was for the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia. The conquerors stayed in the country for only a few years and subjugated a relatively small part of it, which was also insignificant from a political and economic point of view. However, for India this campaign did not remain without a trace. From now on, India begins to play an increasingly important role in the system international relations; overland trade between India and the Mediterranean countries increased; the exchange of embassies between Indian kings and the kings of the Hellenistic states, and later Rome, became increasingly common. The Mediterranean countries became better acquainted with India thanks to the stories, notes and memories of the participants in Alexander’s campaign.

The British of Malta angered Paul I, the Russian Emperor, who at the time held the title of Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He hastily broke the alliance with Britain and entered into an alliance with Napoleon, who proposed a plan for a joint expedition to capture India.

The secret plan for the expedition called for joint operations of two infantry corps - one French (with artillery support) and one Russian. Each infantry corps consisted of 35,000 men, total quantity people should have reached 70,000, not counting artillery and Cossack cavalry. Napoleon insisted that the command of the French corps be given to General Masséna. According to the plan, the French army was supposed to cross the Danube and the Black Sea, pass through Southern Russia, stopping in Taganrog, Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan.

The French were supposed to unite with the Russian army at the mouth of the Volga. After this, both corps crossed the Caspian Sea and landed at the Persian port of Astrabad. The entire journey from France to Astrabad took eighty days, according to estimates. The next fifty days were spent marching through Kandahar and Herat, and the plan was to reach India by September of that year.

According to plans, the Indian campaign was supposed to be similar to Bonaparte’s Egyptian campaign - engineers, artists, and scientists went along with the soldiers.

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. in 1878, a regiment of infantry and sappers and a regiment of Orenburg Cossacks set out from Samarkand towards India to put pressure on Great Britain. However, a peace treaty was soon concluded, and a limited contingent of Russian troops stopped in the village of Jam (64 versts from Samarkand), where all the military personnel died from cholera.

Sources

Mitrofanov A. A. Russian-French relations in the mirror of Bonapartist propaganda of 1800-1801. // French Yearbook 2006. M., 2006.
Military Encyclopedia / Ed. V. F. Novitsky and others. - St. Petersburg. : company of I.V. Sytin, 1911-1915. - T. 10.
M. A. Terentyev, History of the conquest of Central Asia, St. Petersburg, 1906;
Krasnov, March to India, “Russian Invalid” 1900, No. 22 and 23).

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Indian campaign of the Don army

The reign of Paul I remained in the memory of posterity as some kind of bad joke. Like, in his semi-delirium, he tried to reshape the whole of Russian life in the Prussian manner, introduced shift parades, elevated Arakcheev and humiliated Suvorov, exiled a whole regiment to Siberia, and sent the Cossacks to conquer India... And thank God they killed him!

Paul I wearing the crown of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta. Artist S. S. Shchukin

Count von der Palen was at the head of the conspiracy, and the version of the sovereign’s madness was, of course, very beneficial to him. But Pavel, who was called the “Russian Hamlet” during his lifetime, is a dramatic figure in the full sense of the word. Therefore, let's turn to more reliable sources. For example, to " Stories XIX century" by French professors Lavisse and Rambaud, published in France in the 1920s, and soon translated into Russian. In it you can read something completely unexpected: “Since both rulers (Napoleon and Paul I) had the same irreconcilable enemy, then, naturally, the idea of a closer rapprochement between them for the sake of a joint fight against this enemy in order to finally crush the Indian the power of England - main source her wealth and power. Thus arose that great plan (highlighted in the text), the first thought of which, without a doubt, belonged to Bonaparte, and the means for execution were studied and proposed by the king.”

It turns out that the plan for the Indian campaign is not at all a figment of the sick imagination of the insane Russian Tsar, and in general it belonged to the brilliant commander Bonaparte. Is this acceptable?! Undoubtedly. This version does not even require special evidence - it, as they say, lies on the surface.

Let’s open the “Essays on the History of France”: “On May 19, 1798, the army under the command of Bonaparte (300 ships, 10 thousand people and a 35 thousand-strong expeditionary force) left Toulon... and on June 30 began landing in Alexandria.”

When asked what exactly the French needed in Egypt, the same publication answers this way: “After the collapse of the first (anti-French) coalition, England alone continued the war against France. The Directory intended to organize a landing of troops on the British Isles, but this had to be abandoned due to the lack of necessary forces and means. Then a plan emerged to strike at the communications connecting England with India, a plan to seize Egypt.”

By the way, the idea of a French landing in Egypt in its original version belonged to the Duke of Choiseul, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of King Louis XV, who ruled until 1774.

Thus, a logical chain of “Napoleonic” (literally and figuratively) plans begins to line up: first cut communications, then move troops along these roads to the “pearl of the English crown,” as India has long been called.

And indeed, the same Dmitry Merezhkovsky writes about these plans in his biography novel “Napoleon”: “Through Egypt to India in order to deliver a mortal blow to the world dominion of England there - such is Bonaparte’s gigantic plan, a crazy chimera emerging from a diseased brain.”

Confirming this version, the modern French historian Jean Tulard, the author of the most famous monograph in foreign Napoleonic studies - the book “Napoleon, or the Myth of the Savior,” which our reader became acquainted with in the publication of the ZhZL series, is much less expressive: “The occupation of Egypt made it possible to decide immediately three strategic objectives: to capture the Isthmus of Suez, thereby blocking one of the routes connecting India with England, to acquire a new colony... to take possession of an important bridgehead that would open access to the main source of prosperity for England - India, where Tippo Sahib fought a war of liberation with the British colonialists.”

January 12, 1801. Rescript from Paul I to the ataman of the Don Army, cavalry general V.P. Orlov, on the preparation of the Cossack army for the campaign in India.

St. Petersburg

The British are preparing to launch an attack with fleet and army on me and on my allies the Swedes and Danes; I am ready to accept them, but we need to attack them themselves and where their blow may be more sensitive and where they are less expected. Establishing them in India is the best thing for this. From us to India from Orenburg it takes three months, and from you there is a month, but only four months. I entrust this entire expedition to you and your army, Vasily Petrovich. Get together with him and set out on a campaign to Orenburg, from where, using any of the three roads or all of them, go with artillery straight through Bukharia and Khiva to the Indus River and at the Anglinsky establishment along it, the troops of that region are of the same kind as yours, and so having artillery you have full avantage; get everything ready for the trip. Send your spies to prepare or inspect the roads, all the wealth of India will be our reward for this expedition. Gather an army to the rear villages and then notify me; wait for the command to go to Orenburg, where, having arrived, wait for another to go further. Such an enterprise will crown you all with glory, will earn my special favor according to merit, will acquire wealth and trade, and will strike the enemy in his heart. Here I am attaching cards, how many of them I have. God bless you.

I am your favor

My maps only go as far as Khiva and the Amur Darya River, and then it’s your job to get information to the Aglin institutions and to the Indian peoples subject to them.

RGVIA, f. 846, op. 16, d. 323, l. 1–1 vol. Copy.

So, the plan to invade India seems to be an objective reality. But did Russia need all this?

The war in Europe lasted for a good ten years and showed the approximate equality of the parties - France and England. This confrontation with variable success could have continued for quite a long time if there had not been a third great state on the continent - our Fatherland. The Russian Tsar, no matter how he was portrayed during his lifetime and subsequently, understood that, firstly, one must be friends with the winner and, secondly, that it was Russia that should determine the winner.

The famous Soviet scientist A. Z. Manfred assessed the situation as follows: “Russia at that time was economically and politically significantly behind England and France. But it far surpassed them in its vast territory, population, military power. Russia's strength was based on its military might."

The British in India during the war of 1752–1804. 19th century engraving

Let us add that this was the case until the 1990s, and therefore our power has always been taken into account in the world. But let’s return to Manfred’s book “Napoleon”: “In 1799–1800, the decisive role of Russia on the stage of European politics was shown with complete clarity. Didn’t Suvorov’s Italian campaign in three months erase all the victories and conquests of the famous French commanders? Didn't he bring France to the brink of defeat? And then, when Russia left the coalition, didn’t the scales tip again in favor of France?”

One can discuss in detail why the Russian Tsar preferred the resurgent French monarchy to the selfish England, which in every matter strives to achieve its own benefit to the detriment of others. One may recall that close Russian-French relations existed during certain periods of the reigns of both Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II...

However, those who believe that the Indian campaign was launched solely to please the new French friends are mistaken.

“A little later there will be talk about the insanity of Paul, who sent the Cossacks on a campaign against India,” writes historian A. N. Arkhangelsky in the book “Alexander I”.

About the fact that the plan was developed jointly with Napoleon, as well as about Catherine’s long-standing plans to fight the banks of the Ganges and Persian campaign Petra, somehow I forgot.”

So what caused the sharply negative assessments of the majority of Russians, and after them the Soviet historians of the “Indian Plan” of Emperor Pavel Petrovich?

Here, for example, is what the famous Russian historian Lieutenant General Nikolai Karlovich Schilder, author of the books “Emperor Paul I”, “Emperor Alexander I” and “Emperor Nicholas I”, reports: “Paul did not do without the usual fantastic hobbies: a campaign to India was planned . Although the first consul also dreamed of the joint action of Russian troops with the French in this direction, plotting the final defeat of England, and for this purpose developed a project for a campaign in India, Emperor Paul intended to solve this difficult problem on his own, with the help of the Cossacks alone.”

Yes, the role of the “court historian” is difficult, for he should not only look into the past, but also constantly look back at the present. Writing about the emperor, killed with the tacit consent of his son, is possible only in the strictest accordance with the highest approved version... And this version says: “a madman who ruined Russia.” And there is no need that the parricide heir later concluded with the same Napoleon the Peace of Tilsit, which was shameful for Russia, and the other son of the murdered emperor again shamefully lost the Eastern War to the same French and English... I wonder what level Russia would have risen to in an alliance with Napoleonic France and what place would England have had in that world divided into two spheres of influence if not for the regicide?

Let's try to impartially reconstruct the events of more than two hundred years ago. So, on January 12 (24), 1801, Emperor Paul sent several rescripts to the ataman of the Don Army, cavalry general V.P. Orlov 1st, instructing him to move “straight through Bukharia and Khiva to the Indus River and to the English establishments along it.” .

Twenty thousand Cossacks -

To India, on a hike! -

Paul I ordered

In my last year.

The Cossacks - 22,507 sabers with 12 unicorns and the same number of cannons, forty-one regiments and two horse companies - went, covering 30-40 miles a day. Their journey turned out to be very difficult due to insufficient preparation, bad roads and weather conditions, including unexpectedly early opening of rivers. “If... the detachment had to overcome incredible difficulties when moving across its own land, then it is easy to imagine the deplorable fate of the Donets during their further movement, especially beyond Orenburg!” - General Schilder literally exclaims in his book.

They didn’t complain, they did it

The king's will.

The Cossacks, of course, knew

That all this is in vain.

If you believe him and other “traditional” historians, then the campaign turned out to be incredible stupidity, and nothing more. But it’s better not to believe it and take the book “The Edge of Ages” by Nathan Yakovlevich Eidelman, published in 1982. Based on previously unknown documents, it truly shocked readers. From it you can learn about the existence of the following plan: “35 thousand French infantry with artillery led by one of the best French generals, Massena, must move along the Danube, through the Black Sea, Taganrog, Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan... At the mouth of the Volga, the French must unite with the 35,000-strong Russian army (of course, not counting the Cossack army that “his way” goes through Bukharin). The combined Russian-French corps will then cross the Caspian Sea and land at Astrabad."

Napoleon in Egypt. Artist J.-L. Jerome

Russia withdrew from the Second Anti-French Coalition due to contradictions with its allies. The failure of a joint British invasion of the Netherlands marked the beginning of a rift, and the British occupation of Malta angered Paul I, the Russian Emperor, who at the time held the title of Grand Master of the Order of Malta. He hastily broke the alliance with Britain and entered into an alliance with Napoleon, who proposed a plan for a joint expedition to capture India.

February 15, 1801. Report from cavalry general V.P. Orlov to Pavel I on the need to second translators of oriental languages and medical personnel to the Cossack army.

Kochetovskaya village.

Most Gracious Sovereign.

I was honored to receive Your Imperial Majesty’s all-eminent rescript dated the 3rd of this month, and I most submissively inform Your Imperial Majesty that from the gathering places of the troops, after a review has been carried out, I will hasten to set out on a campaign from the first of next March. I dare Your Imperial Majesty to most submissively ask whether it would be kind to you to most graciously order that those who know the national translations of those places be seconded to me, if such can be found. That’s why the All-Merciful Sovereign considers it necessary to have them, so that you can rely on their loyalty, rather than someone who has been found in places and is obliged to live. And also, most submissively of Your Imperial Majesty, I ask for medical ranks, which the army will need just in case.

I submit myself to the most sacred feet of Your Imperial Majesty, Your Imperial Majesty, the Most Gracious Sovereign, most submissive Vasily Orlov.

(marks on the document) Write to the Prosecutor General and send twelve doctors with one staff doctor to the Don Army. Wrote a letter to the prince. Gagarin from himself. Received on February 23, 1801 from Field Huntsman Zimnyakov.

RGVIA, f. 26, op. 1/152, d. 104, l. 683. Original.

The secret plan for the expedition called for joint operations of two infantry corps - one French (with artillery support) and one Russian. Each infantry corps consisted of 35 thousand people, the total number of people was supposed to reach 70 thousand, not counting artillery and Cossack cavalry. Napoleon insisted that the command of the French corps be entrusted to General Massena. According to the plan, the French army was supposed to cross the Danube and the Black Sea, pass through Southern Russia, stopping in Taganrog, Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan.

Team up with Russian army The French were at the mouth of the Volga. After this, both corps crossed the Caspian Sea and landed in the Persian port of Astrabad. The entire movement from France to Astrabad was estimated to take eighty days. The next fifty days were spent marching through Kandahar and Herat, and it was planned to reach India by September of that year.

According to the plans, the Indian campaign was supposed to be similar to Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign - engineers, artists, and scientists went along with the soldiers.

Portrait of the Cossack chieftain V.P. Orlov. Unknown artist

You can laugh at the attempt to seize India by a twenty-thousand-strong Cossack horde, but if you add to it 70 thousand regular Russian and French infantry, representing two best armies world, then no one here will even want to smile. But in Egypt there were still forces of the army that Napoleon led to the pyramids in 1798! And from Kamchatka, three Russian frigates were supposed to approach the Indian Ocean, which could compete with the English ships there...

By the way, with the notorious Cossack campaign, the situation is also far from being as simple as it seems at first glance. After all, things were very restless on the Don at that time. The only thing is that in the fall of 1800 in Cherkassk, Colonel of the Life Guards Cossack Regiment Evgraf Gruzinov, one of the former Gatchina residents, that is, one of the most faithful, devoted who served under Paul when he was still the Grand Duke, was executed “for rebellious plans” - and Evgraf’s brother, retired lieutenant colonel Pyotr Gruzinov, testifies to many things. The Emperor more than once expressed a desire to “shake up the Cossacks,” so he sent them “their way” - for the purpose of “military education.” It is no coincidence that General Platov and other officers who were released from the fortress before the campaign returned to their regiments.

More than two decades will pass, and after the “Semyonov Story”, Emperor Alexander Pavlovich intends to “ventilate the guard.”

One of the best French generals A. Massena

Since there was no war, the king sent her on a campaign to the western provinces. It seems that staying in undeveloped places caused no less inconvenience for the guards aristocracy than a trek through the winter steppe for the hardened Cossacks.

Where are the Indian diamonds?

Spices, carpets?

Where are the luxurious gifts:

Cargo from Bukhara? -

asks the poet.

March 12, 1801. Rescript from Alexander I to cavalry general V.P. Orlov about ending the campaign in India and returning the Cossacks to the Don.

Petersburg.

Mr. General of the Cavalry Orlov 1st Upon receipt of this, I command you with all the Cossack regiments now following with you on the secret expedition to return to the Don and disband them to their homes.

Foreign policy of Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Documents of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. T. 1. M., 1960. P. 11.

In general, as it turns out, everything in the actions of the Russian Tsar had its own clear deep meaning. And suddenly it became uncomfortable in the British Isles, and the English government became worried, and more people went to Russia through secret channels. more money, which... However, this already applies to other sad events.

There is no doubt that from the point of view of French interests, a military invasion of Asia with the ultimate goal of conquering Hindustan would be a strategically important step. This would lead to the complete collapse of Great Britain and change the geopolitical balance of power in the world. The idea of an Indian campaign was first expressed by Bonaparte in 1797, even before his expedition to Egypt. Later, having come to power, he persistently instilled the idea of a joint campaign in India to Emperor Paul I. And he managed to achieve certain successes. True, the Russian sovereign, without even concluding an alliance with the first consul of France, wanted to solve this problem on his own and gave the order to send Cossack regiments to find ways to a country that was then unfamiliar to the Russians. Units of the Don Army had to carry it out. His 41st regiment and two companies of artillery (22 thousand people) in February 1801 set out - through the deserted Orenburg steppe - to conquer Central Asia. From this bridgehead it was easier for them to reach India - the main jewel in the crown British Empire. But, having covered 700 versts in three weeks, the Cossacks received from St. Petersburg one of the first orders from the young Alexander I who ascended the throne - to return to the Don.

The Russian expedition to Central Asia then seriously worried the British, and not without their help, Russian Emperor Paul I was killed by the conspirators.

...The chronicle of Pavlovsk's reign turned out to be so hidden or distorted during the more than half-century reign of the two Pavlovichs that they simply got used to it in this form. Meanwhile, these times are still waiting for their researchers, who must not only resurrect forgotten events of the past, but also understand how and why legends are created, and who benefits from replacing the true pages of our national history with them.

Was in Russia Civil war. At a time when the fall of the German Reich in the November Revolution and the hasty flight of the German occupiers did not bring the Bolsheviks control over the South of Russia, when the Volunteer Army marched to Moscow through Kyiv and Kharkov, the commander of the Turkestan Front M. V. Frunze began the formation of a cavalry corps for "March on India" to "deal a blow to British imperialism, which is the most powerful enemy of Soviet Russia." The corps was supposed to have 40 thousand horsemen. The corps of General Matvey Platov under Emperor Pavel Petrovich, who was “thrown to India” in 1800, had approximately the same number of “sabers” of Don Cossacks. But even in 1919, things did not go further than the project.

Commander of the Turkestan Front M. V. Frunze

(Based on materials from A. Bondarenko.)

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Indian campaign. Project of the century Victor Bezotosny If the Indian campaign had happened, history would have taken a different path, and there would not have been the Patriotic War of 1812 and everything connected with it. Of course, history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood, but... Judge for yourself. Worsening relations

From the book Cossacks against Napoleon. From Don to Paris author Venkov Andrey Vadimovich

Kalmyks and Tatars as part of the Don Army At the time of the events we are studying, “the majority of the Kalmyk population was within the Astrakhan province, including up to 15 thousand men fit for military service. The Stavropol Kalmyk army consisted of 10 companies

At the beginning of the 19th century, under the influence of Napoleon Bonaparte, who at that time maintained allied relations with Russia, the Russian Emperor Paul I (1754-1801) had a plan to march to India, the most important English colony, the source of income for Britain.

At the suggestion of the Russian Emperor, it was planned to strike at British interests in India with the forces of a joint Russian-French corps.

The plan was to cross the whole of Central Asia in two months, cross the Afghan mountains and fall on the British. At this time, Napoleon's ally was supposed to open a second front, land on the British Isles, and strike from Egypt, where French troops were then stationed.

Paul I entrusted the implementation of the secret operation to the ataman of the Don Army Vasily Orlov-Denisov. In support of the ataman, due to his advanced years, Paul I appointed officer Matvey Platov (1751-1818), the future ataman of the Don Army and hero of the War of 1812. Platov was mobilized directly from the cell of the Alekseevsky ravelin, where he was imprisoned as accused of harboring runaway serfs.

IN short term 41 horse regiments and two companies of horse artillery were prepared for the Indian campaign. Matvey Platov commanded the largest column of thirteen regiments on the campaign.

In total, about 22 thousand Cossacks gathered. The treasury allocated more than 1.5 million rubles for the operation.

On February 20 (March 3, new style), Orlov reported to the sovereign that everything was ready for the performance. The vanguard under the command of Andrian Denisov, who walked with Suvorov through the Alps, moved east. Esaul Denezhnikov went to scout the route to Orenburg, Khiva, Bukhara and further to India.

On February 28 (March 11, new style), the emperor’s approval came to the Don, and Platov with the main forces set out from the village of Kachalinskaya to the east. The direction was to Orenburg, where local authorities were hastily preparing camels and provisions for the journey through the desert.

The timing of the attack was calculated incorrectly. There was a muddy road, and the Cossack horses drowned in the mud of the Russian off-road, and the artillery almost stopped moving.

Because of the flooding of the rivers, the Cossack regiments had to change routes so that the food warehouses organized along the route of the troops remained far away. The commanders had to purchase everything they needed from own funds or issue receipts according to which the treasury had to pay the money.

To add to all the other troubles, it turned out that the local population, from whose food purchases the expeditionary force was supposed to be fed, had no food supplies. The previous year was dry and barren, so the troops began to starve along with the Volga peasants.

Having lost their way several times, the Cossacks reached the Mechetnaya settlement (now the city of Pugachev, Saratov region). Here, on March 23 (April 4, new style), the army was caught up by a courier from St. Petersburg with an order, in view of the sudden death of Paul I, to immediately return home. Emperor Alexander I did not support his father’s initiatives, and the campaign was never resumed.

The operation was strictly classified. In St. Petersburg it was only known that the Cossacks had gone somewhere. The Cossacks themselves, except for the five senior officers, thought that they were going to “fight Bukharia.” They learned about India when Paul I was already dead.

Vasily Orlov died of a stroke upon returning home, and Matvey Platov became the new chieftain.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

The beginning of the 19th century was revolutionary for Europe, shaken by the boots of French troops led by Emperor Napoleon. For him, both Britain and Russia became the main competitors for power over the continent. But he also sought an alliance with them in order to defeat the enemy.

Friendship vs England

Not accepted into the ranks of the Russian army at one time, having gone from soldier to emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte set himself the task of first defeating the British and then taking on the Russians.

In 1801, the authorities of the Russian Empire, realizing the unreliability of such allies as the British and Austrians, signed the Treaty of Paris. According to the document, the Russians and French pledged not to help the external and internal enemies of the other side and to refuse protection to those of their subjects who would engage in hostile activities in a friendly country.

Along with the treaty, a decision was made to differentiate influence and patronage over European countries. In particular, the status of the German, Italian states, greek islands, French-Turkish relations. But the consequences of the peace treaty also had an Asian component.

India was the pearl of the British Empire and was the most expensive and profitable colony. Its status became especially important after the independence of the North American colonies.

This forced London to switch to the Asian vector. The loss of India could cause a serious blow not only economic system empire, but also to raise the question of the future imperial status of Great Britain. At the same time, Napoleon, back in 1797, declared the need to conquer India.

However, at that time his plans were not destined to come true. And now, having found a reliable ally providing a land transition to the designated goal, the Frenchman began to implement his plan.

“Russia, from her Asian possessions... could give a helping hand to the French army in Egypt and, acting in conjunction with France, transfer the war to Bengal,” wrote a French agent at the time.

Indian campaign of the Don Cossacks

The joint plan of Russian-French actions suggested sending 35 thousand soldiers each, not counting the Cossacks and artillery. At the same time, the Indian campaign was similar to the campaign of the French army in Egypt: engineers, scientists, and artists were sent along with the soldiers.

The French corps was supposed to pass through the south of Russia: through the Danube to Taganrog, Tsaritsyn and Astrakhan, where it united with Russian troops. Then, together, we will cross the Caspian Sea and through Persia reach the much-cherished India.

In January 1801, Paul I gave the order for the Cossacks to march. Despite the formal leadership of the operation by Don Ataman Vasily Orlov, the commander of the troops was appointed whirlwind ataman Matvey Platov, released from behind the walls. The development of the military operation was strictly classified so that English spies could not find out about the Russian-French conspiracy.

In the imperial capital, they only knew about sending the Cossacks on the next campaign, and among the Cossacks, only five senior officers knew about the actual goals of the military operation. 22,507 people with 24 guns went on the campaign. The condition of the Cossack troops was very “shabby”: 800 sick people were marching, fire victims and poor people were marching, and those who had just returned from the Italian and Caucasian campaigns were marching.

The Russian emperor set the Cossacks the task of taking Khiva and Bukhara along the way, “so that the Chinese would not get it.” And after the conquest of India, Paul I promised the Cossacks all its riches: “In India, the British have their own trading establishments, acquired either with money or with weapons. You need to ruin all this, liberate the oppressed owners and bring the land into Russia into the same dependence as the British have it.”

However, the time of the campaign was calculated incorrectly, and the Don Cossacks, setting out from the village of Kachalinskaya, found themselves in snowdrifts, without provisions and heating. With the onset of spring, the roads became impassable, and many Cossacks fell ill with scurvy. Crop failure in the Volga provinces also had a negative impact on the army's advancement.

On March 23, 1801, a messenger from St. Petersburg reached the Cossack troops, changing the entire fate of the campaign: Paul I died, and the Cossacks were ordered to return back. On the way back, Ataman Vasily Orlov died of a stroke.

English trace

Many historians link the assassination of Paul I to the work of British intelligence. The death of the Russian emperor was beneficial to London, including due to the rupture of Russian-French friendship and the completion of the failed Indian campaign.

As Napoleon himself wrote about this, the British could not get into it in Paris, but got into it in St. Petersburg. Although the French emperor did not abandon his dream, and the campaign against Russia in 1812 could well be considered by him as a further campaign in India.

Could the Cossacks really reach Delhi?

Paul I thought so. Inspired by Alexander Suvorov's crossing of the Alps, he believed that the Cossacks would also cross the Pamirs.

“The operator asks: “Ataman, do you know the way to the Ganga?” This is the first time I've heard it, apparently. But who wants to sit in prison for nothing? I say: “Yes, ask any girl on the Don about the Ganges, she’ll show you the way right away...” Here I have a Maltese cross on my shirt - bam! My lice were really stunned. They were ordered to go to India and grab the English by the cheeks. We should support Massena…”, the great ataman Matvey Platov recalled about those events.

However, history decreed otherwise and the Cossacks were not destined to “wash their boots in the Indian Ocean,” and the Russian-French alliance turned into the Patriotic War of 1812. Most likely this is what happened main reason, along which the campaign was eventually classified.