The Dris fortified camp was set up before the start of the 1812 war on the left bank in the bend of the Western Dvina , between the town of Drissa (now Verkhnedvinsk ) and the village of Shatrovo [1] . According to the plan of General Pful , the army of Barclay de Tolly , relying on this camp, was to keep the enemy from the front after retreating from the border of the empire. The initial plan of Pfule turned out to be untenable due to the poor quality of the defensive position and the vast superiority of Napoleon's forces.
Content
Description
The camp was located in a river bend, in a clearing partially surrounded by swamps. With its rear, the camp was facing the river, through which it was planned to build seven bridges in case of retreat. From the front, the camp was covered by several lines of fortifications:
- row of trenches for shooters,
- 50–100 steps behind them, the second row of fortifications for artillery batteries and separate battalions for covering batteries
- behind them the next row of fortifications, reserve position
- near the river in the center is a redoubt to cover the retreat.
Pfule’s idea was that if the French attacked from the front, they would be defeated by the defenders. However, on the other side of the river it was impossible to defend the camp due to the lack of suitable defense strongholds, and the Dvina in this place was so shallow that the French could cross the river and attack the camp from the rear. The terrain inside the camp was very rugged and made it difficult for the defenders to maneuver, and the forest on the flanks allowed the French to covertly deploy troops.
The position of the camp away from large roads limited the maneuverability of the 1st Army, and Napoleon’s significant numerical superiority would allow him to defeat the 1st and 2nd armies separately.
Camp Use
During the retreat, the 1st Army entered the camp on June 27 ( July 9 ), 1812. On July 1 (13), Emperor Alexander I arrived in Drissa. At the military council in Driss on the same day, only 5 days after the occupation of the camp, it was decided to leave the camp and the next day the troops of the 1st Army began to withdraw to Vitebsk and further, in order to have time to connect with the 2nd Western Army of the prince Bagration . Wittgenstein’s corps was allocated to cover St. Petersburg.
Clausewitz , who participated in the preparation of the camp for defense, notes:
If the Russians themselves had not voluntarily abandoned this position, they would have been attacked from the rear, and it doesn’t matter if there were 90,000 or 120,000 of them, they would be driven into a semicircle of trenches and forced to surrender. [2]
Dries Camp in Literature
The discussion of the Dries camp at a military council was described by L. Tolstoy in the novel War and Peace (Volume Three, Part I, Chapters X — XI).
Notes
- ↑ Driss camp // Military Encyclopedia / P. S. Grachev . - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1995. - T. 3. - S. 134. - ISBN 5-203-00748-9 .
- ↑ Karl von Clausewitz. 1812 year
Literature
- Drissa // Sytin Military Encyclopedia .
- The Driss Fortified Camp // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
Links
- Dries camp on the site of the Ministry of Defense of Russia .