Kosen, Peter Andreevich

The son of a poor second-major from the nobles of the Livonia province . Pyotr Kosen decided to continue his father’s military path by entering the Artillery and Engineering Gentry Cadet Corps . Released from the cadet corps in July 1796 with a bayonet-junker into the artillery ^[2] , he was promoted to lieutenant in January of the following year, and in 1798 he was listed on the equestrian battalion of Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Bogdanov along with the first artillerymen , also pupils of Artillery and engineering gentry cadet corps , Gavrila Ignatiev, Leo Yashvil , Fedor Rall, Alexander Seslavin .

In October 1803, P.A. Kosen was the captain of the staff ; in 1805, he served in the guards horse company of Colonel V.G. Kostenetsky along with Dmitry Stolypin, Nikolai Seslavin, Rostislav Zakharov, Alexander Rall, the future heroes of Borodin . But even in such a bright environment, in the very first battle near Austerlitz, Peter Kosen did not go unnoticed: for the difference in him, he was awarded the Golden Sword “For Courage” , and six months later promoted to captain .

In the campaign of 1807, P. A. Cosen again appeared in sight: on May 29 he was shell-shocked in the battle of Heilsberg , three days later he was awarded the Order of St. 4th degree Vladimir with a bow, in October he was appointed commander of a horse company at the guards horse artillery, and in August 1808 he was promoted to colonel . The year 1811 brought new promotions to the young colonel: in February he was appointed commander of the 1st reserve artillery brigade, in April - commander of the life guard of the Horse-artillery company , which consisted of two batteries. In the campaigns of 1812 - 1814, this unit operated as part of the 1st cuirassier division .

In this position P. A. Kosen met the beginning of the war with Napoleon and on the third day took part in two-day battles near Vitebsk . Then he retreated into the interior of the 1st Western Army, and fought for Smolensk on August 5 and 6. A reliable support for him in these battles was his young colleagues in the cadet corps: in the first battery of Rostislav Zakharov they amounted to 77 percent of all officers, in the second - Alexander Rally of the 2nd - 68%.

Both batteries proved to be heroic in the battle of Borodino , introduced into the battle from the reserve at crucial moments of the battle. They honorably carried out the combat missions assigned by the front, although they suffered huge losses: R. Zakharov and A. Rall died from their wounds, six officers were killed, 110 lower ranks were killed and wounded, 113 horses fell . For courage and heroism shown in the battle of Borodino, 11 officers of the guards horse artillery were awarded orders, including the Order of St. 3rd degree Vladimir P.A. Kosen.

The subordinates of P. A. Cosen actively participated in the attack of the camp near Tarutino on October 6 and near Maloyaroslavets ; Colonel Kosen himself for Maloyaroslavets awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree.

The guards mounted artillery under the command of P.A. Kosen in the battles of Vyazma (October 22), Krasny (November 13) and near Borisov (November 20) said their weighty word. Peter Andreevich took part in foreign campaigns of 1813 and 1814 . October 29, 1813 awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree

For the battles at Lutzen , for the difference in the general battle at Bautzen , he was promoted to major general on May 8 and 9; On August 15, during the battle of Dresden he was appointed chief of artillery of the Guards Corps. In this position, he participated in the Battle of Kulm on August 18 and in the three-day battle of peoples at Leipzig in October 1813. New differences followed in 1814: for the battles of Brienne and Arcy-sur-Ob he was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree, and for Ferschampenoise - Golden saber with diamonds “For courage”.

The war ended for P.A. Cosen on March 18 near Paris . In peacetime, for his excellent diligent service, he was awarded in 1823 diamond signs to the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree. In 1825, he was dismissed from service due to domestic circumstances, but on January 10, 1826 he was again accepted into the service under the field general- officer, on special assignments, and seven months later he was promoted to lieutenant general .

In January 1827, an unexpected turn took place in the military career of P. A. Cosen. He is appointed the manager of the training artillery brigade, the St. Petersburg arsenal, the Okhta gunpowder factory and the St. Petersburg laboratory, and from July next year also the inspector of local arsenals. An experienced gunner gets acquainted in detail with the production of gunpowder , the technology for the manufacture and repair of artillery weapons and ammunition. Successful activity at these posts was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 2nd degree. Since September 1834, P. A. Kosen has been the head of a rocket institution engaged in the manufacture of combat missiles and the improvement of their production technology. It was him who the Russian army owed to the arsenal of reliable in operation and the best in Europe in terms of tactical and technological characteristics of gunpowder combat missiles. For his great contribution to Russian rocket science, Pyotr Andreyevich Kosen was awarded the Order of the White Eagle in 1844, and on March 17, 1845 he was promoted to general from artillery.

Pyotr Andreyevich Kosen died on December 7, 1853.

Brother P.A. Cosen - Lieutenant General F.A. Cosen

• Adjutant materials were used when writing the article ! © 2003—2006
• Dictionary of Russian generals, participants in the hostilities against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812-1815. // Russian archive. The history of the Fatherland in the evidence and documents of the XVIII — XX centuries. : Collection. - M .: TRITE studio N. Mikhalkova , 1996. - T. VII . - S. 426 . - ISSN 0869-20011 . (Comm. A. A. Podmazo )