Bull Tiger Biographical Library · Giant Hundred Biography Series -- Suvorov

Author: Wen Jiaqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: We are delighted to recommend the "Giant Biographies Series" to young friends. In this era of transition, having such a premium series accompany you is a joy for the intellect. We believe that from the footsteps of these giants and masters, you can learn how to handle success and failure, comfort and hardship, joy and pain, smoothness and adversity, and understand how to approach life, how to be a person, how to pursue knowledge, how to shape oneself, and how to shape the future.
Principal of Peking University, Zhao Yulin Secretary of the Party Committee, Dong Lingsheng
Every great figure with global influence holds a deeply moving story within them. Their rich experiences and life lessons, their spirit of struggle and elements of success, their pursuit of excellence and ability to seize opportunities, undoubtedly have a great inspirational and educational role for today's youth.
Principal of Tsinghua University, Zhao Qinggang
Giants are the elite of humanity, who have made outstanding contributions to the progress and civilization of human society. Their spirit of struggle and extraordinary achievements are deeply admired by people, becoming models for others to learn from. Giants are human, not gods; they come from ordinary people yet surpass them. Their lofty ideals and the belief in serving the motherland and humanity drive them to persevere and fear no difficulties.
Principal of Tianjin Nankai, Kang Xiuyan
To carefully read this series of books is like seeing their appearance, speech, and actions, and feeling their ideals, beliefs, ambitions, and moral character. This will help you learn how to be a person, how to pursue knowledge, and how to build a career.
Principal of Fudan University, Cao Tianren
Suvorov (1730-1800), Grand Duke of the Russian Army, one of the founders of Russian military theory, and a renowned military strategist. From a young age, he studied artillery, fortification, and military history under his father's guidance, admiring Peter the Great's empire and the Roman general Caesar. In 1742, he was registered in the Imperial Guard, and in 1748, he began his official military service. He participated in the Seven Years' War, two Russo-Turkish Wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791), and the suppression of the Polish uprising in 1794. After the formation of the Second Coalition against France in 1798, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian-Austrian joint forces in northern Italy. In 1799, he led his army to Italy and Switzerland, crossing the Alps during his march, which Engels considered "the finest Alpine campaign up to that time." Later, he was disgraced and died in St. Petersburg. Suvorov advocated abandoning the strategy of defensive lines and linear tactics; he concentrating forces on the main direction, aiming to annihilate enemy strength, moving swiftly and aggressively; and combining practical needs in training. He summarized his years of combat experience and military theories in works such as "Instructions to the Regiments" and "The Science of Victory."
After joining the army, Suvorov observed the bravery and resilience of Russian soldiers while personally experiencing the major flaws of the Russian command and senior officers, who pursued formality and closed-door command, detached from actual combat conditions. This led him to strongly desire thorough reforms in the Russian army. These reforms began with his Suzdal Regiment, where he established a set of advanced methods for training and educating soldiers. He believed that people were the key to victory, opposing blind and mechanical training, and training based on actual combat needs, striving to make soldiers bold, proactive, and skillful in complex conditions. He also focused on night combat exercises, believing that courage was particularly important in night battles. His famous motto was: "Train hard, fight easy." He was known for his strict training. Many of Suvorov's later victories were inseparable from his reforms of the army.
Suvorov's strategy was characterized by extreme initiative and decisiveness. The main purpose of military operations was to destroy the enemy in open battlefields. The basic method of strategic operations was offensive. He believed: "The essence of military theory lies in directly attacking the enemy's most vulnerable points, rather than adopting indirect and detour methods... Only direct and courageous attacks can lead to victory." In every battle, Suvorov encouraged his soldiers, saying: "Brave men, the enemy will tremble before you!" This gave each soldier confidence in their strength, understanding that retreating even one step meant death, and even if they survived, it would be shameful. The famous siege of Izmail was won under this guiding principle. After the battle, Suvorov wrote in his report: "No fortress was stronger than Izmail, and no resistance was fiercer than Izmail, but it fell beneath the throne of our sovereign—it was the result of heroic offensive."
For example, in 1798, Russia joined with Great Britain and Austria to oppose France, sending troops to fight in Italy. At the time, Austrian generals had all been defeated by French forces, and there was a lack of a commander for the allied forces. Paul I had to recall Suvorov, who had been dismissed for advocating reforms, and appoint him as the Commander of the Russian Army in northern Italy, with the Austrians under his command. In March 1799, Suvorov began his famous Italian campaign. Upon arriving at the front, he immediately abolished the outdated Prussian-style regulations imposed by Paul I, transforming the army's image. The Russian army advanced 520 versts in 18 days. At this point, France sent the talented general Moreau to command the French army at the front. In June, the French army, numbering 50,000, launched a counterattack, while Suvorov had only 20,000, but the Russian army still achieved the final victory. After the battle, Moreau commented on Suvorov: "This man has extraordinary perseverance—he would rather sacrifice himself and fight his army to the last man than retreat even one step."
Over more than 50 years of military life, Suvorov realized that soldiers were the foundation of victory and developed a special character and habit: to live like a soldier, always seeing himself as one. In training and combat, he often mingled with the soldiers, without any pretense, always appearing natural, cheerful, and approachable. In the Russian army of the time, officers often treated soldiers as slaves, viewing them as walking machines that could be beaten and humiliated at will. Suvorov was deeply angered by this and called the disciplinary system of Paul I "a brutal system." Suvorov always respected and cared for his soldiers, seeing them as heroes, and would never let them shed blood in vain in battle, cherishing their lives. In peacetime, he forbade officers from mistreating or humiliating soldiers.
As a result, he had immense influence among the soldiers, who affectionately called him "the Soldier Marshal" and were willing to fight desperately under his command, overcoming all difficulties to achieve victory.
In this biography, the author aims to use a wealth of vivid and detailed historical materials to choose a unique perspective, describing the glorious achievements of this great commander in his half-century military career and his brilliant journey from a private to the Grand Duke of the Russian Army. At the same time, it will reveal the intrigue within the Russian political arena and the extravagance and debauchery in the court through the historical context in which he lived. Additionally, the author will introduce the marshal's unfortunate marriage and family life anecdotes, allowing readers to fully understand the complex inner world of the great commander and his joys and sorrows as an ordinary person.