Gervais, Alexander Karlovich

The son of the Vyborg commandant, Karl Yeremeyevich Zherve , Alexander Karlovich was born on October 26, 1779 and at the end of the course of sciences in the 2nd Cadet Corps , on December 13, 1798 he was released as second lieutenant into the 1st Siege Artillery Battalion.

When the Imperial Police Battalion was formed in December 1806, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich , on behalf of Emperor Alexander I , personally selected officers for this battalion, which was formed partly at the expense of and with the special participation of the imperial family and which laid the foundation for the new Life Guards Finnish Regiment . Gervais, with the rank of lieutenant, was elected prince as one of the most worthy officers, and in the spring of the following year, speaking in the Prussian campaign against Napoleon , participated in battles with the French at Guttstadt , Heilsberg and Friedland , and for military distinctions he was awarded a golden sword with the inscription "For courage . "

By 1812, Gervais was already a colonel and, commanding the 3rd battalion in the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment, distinguished himself with him in the battle of Borodino , where, according to the official report, “with great courage, shouting“ hurray “he threw himself in bayonets and knocked over the enemy” . In the same battle, he was wounded by a bullet in his right leg right through and sent to Kasimov to heal the wounds, where he spent three and a half months. For distinction near Borodin, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd degree with diamond signs.

In the overseas campaign of 1813-1814. Gervais was back in service and continued to command his battalion, with which he was involved in affairs near Lutzen , Bautzen , Kulm and Leipzig . For the difference under Lutzen, he received the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree.

The battle of Leipzig on October 4, 1813 was especially significant in the life of Gervais. A participant in this outstanding battle , A.N. Marin , the first historian of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment, says: “In the battle of Leipzig, when the Finnish regiment ousted the French from the village of Gossa, and the 8th battalion of the regiment went around the village, battalion commander Colonel Gervais with his the first officers climbed over the stone fence and the rangers rushed after them, already drove the French; but, being surrounded by a large enemy, they firmly defended their place; many officers were injured; then the grenadier Korenna , having transplanted the battalion commander Gervais and his other wounded chiefs through the fence, "he continued to defend himself until, having received 18 wounds, he was captured. About the feat of the radical was reported to Napoleon, who released him from captivity. The very feat, according to the Highest Commandment, is immortalized by the famous painting by the artist Babaev , who portrayed Root, saving Gervais.

Due to the severe wound of the regiment commander M.K. Kryzhanovsky and senior colonel, Gervais took command of the regiment in the battle of Leipzig . He had to lead the regiment on a further campaign, go with the Allied forces of the Rhine and take part in the occupation of Paris . When following the regiment back through Berlin, he was awarded the Prussian Order “Pour le mérite” here . January 8, 1815 A.K. Gervais was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree (No. 2985 according to the list of Grigorovich - Stepanov)

In the same 1815, Gervais married E.P. Pisemskaya and on this occasion, Emperor Alexander I granted him 2000 rubles with bank notes. The following year, February 25, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Jaeger Regiment , which, however, did not command long, since on August 30 he was promoted to major general with the appointment of being the head of the 21st Infantry Division. In this division, after a short period of command of the reserve battalions of the 9th Infantry Division, Gervais commanded the 3rd brigade for ten years (from 1817 to 1827). After that, he received under his command the 1st Infantry Division, which he commanded for about four years.

During the Polish War of 1831, he was part of the corps of Count Palen 1st, commanded the 16th Infantry Division, and for the differences in the battle at Grokhovsky Heights and during the capture of Minsk , he was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree and the Polish sign "Virtuti militari" 2nd degree. In November 1831 he was appointed head of the 14th Infantry Division, which he commanded for about two years.

On December 6, 1833, with the rank of lieutenant general , he received his last appointment - the commandant of Tobolsk, and remained in this position until December 31, 1839, when he was dismissed from service with a uniform and pension due to upset health.

A significant part of the time upon retirement, Alexander Karlovich Gervais lived in the city of Paris and where he died in 1858.

• Marine A.N. A brief outline of the history of the Life Guards of the Finland Regiment. SPb. 1846
• Rostkovsky F. Ya. History of the Life Guards of the Finland Regiment. SPb. 1881
• Gervais V. Gervais, Alexander Karlovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Stepanov V.S., Grigorovich P.I. In memory of the centennial of the imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. (1769-1869). SPb., 1869

• “ Historical Bulletin ” 1898, May – December. “ Memoirs of Konstantin Karlovich Gervais ” and their unpublished part (manuscript).