Chuykevich, Pyotr Andreevich

Came from the Little Russian clan Chuykevich .

After graduating in December 1797, the land gentry cadet corps was issued by the ensign in the Kronstadt garrison regiment. In 1804, Chuykevich was enrolled in the retinue of His Imperial Majesty for the quartermaster part . He participated in the Russian-Prussian-French war and in the campaign of 1808-1809 in the Russian-Turkish war ; He was awarded the Orders of St. Anne of the 4th and 2nd degrees, St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with a bow and the Prussian Order “For Dignity” (“ Pour le Mérite ”). March 21, 1809 retired.

Books by P. A. Chuykevich, “Feats of the Cossacks in Prussia” (St. Petersburg, 1807) and “Strategic Discussions on the First Actions of the Russians on the Danube” (St. Petersburg, 1810) attracted the attention of Minister of War M. B. Barclay de Tolly , who proposed to the retired captain position in the department assigned to him; in 1810 Chuykevich entered the “Secret Affairs Expedition (since 1812 - Special Office of the Minister of War) at the War Ministry, ” created to provide general guidance for intelligence activities against France and its allies.

Participation in actions against Napoleon

Chuykevich was involved in compiling lists of persons suspected of espionage, sent agents abroad, received and processed intelligence, wrote analytical notes, made proposals on “establishing espionage” in various places, and sent out routes for movement to military units on the western border.

September 15, 1811 P. A. Chuykevich was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel . In early January 1812, in connection with the inevitability of the impending big war, he was tasked with compiling a “deployment map” of Napoleonic forces in Germany, which gave the Minister of War and Emperor Alexander I information about the deployment of French troops.

In the spring of 1812 P.A. Chuykevich accompanied Barclay de Tolly to Vilna . After which he was sent to Prussia with a military diplomatic mission, primarily to collect intelligence.

Chuykevich compiled an analytical note on the upcoming war. It cited the need for an initial retreat of the Russian troops until the moment of equality of forces and the conduct of an active guerrilla warfare . And if the thoughts expressed by P. A. Chuykevich in the first part of the note were confirmed during the war, then the thoughts set out in the second part must be attributed to unrealized projects and considered as bold proposals that the Russian command had not decided on in the difficult situation of the outbreak of war . The entire military-theoretical part was developed by the author in an original manner and deserves attention as a monument to Russian military thought.

With the outbreak of hostilities, P. A. Chuykevich took part in the raid of the first partisan detachment under the command of General F. F. Wintsingerode ; On July 6, 1812, he was appointed chief quartermaster to the corps of M.I. Platov . Commanding the Cossack units, Chuykevich participated in rearguard affairs, and for the difference on August 15, 1812, according to the ideas of Platov and Barclay de Tolly, he received the rank of colonel.

For the battle of Borodino, P. A. Chuykevich was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree. Seriously ill, he was forced to leave the army.

After World War II

Having recovered his health, Chuykevich accompanied Barclay de Tolly to Petersburg and was appointed January 10, 1813 as the manager of the Special Chancellery under the Minister of War and remained in this position until the end of 1815. In 1813 he was sent to pacify peasant riots near Novgorod, Arzamas and Astrakhan, where he was shot in the leg with a shot.

On November 29, 1816, Colonel Chuykevich retired with his uniform. Four years later, on October 21, 1820, he again entered the service and was assigned to the office of the General Staff . In 1821 he was sent “on a special assignment” to the international congress in Laibach (now Ljubljana ). December 12, 1823 Chuykevich received the rank of major general . The last position he held from October 25, 1829 to August 17, 1831 was the chief of staff of the Separate Orenburg Corps .

He wrote "Discourses on the War of 1812" (St. Petersburg, 1813); “The attempt of Napoleon on India in 1812” (St. Petersburg, 1813; 2nd edition, under the title: “Napoleon’s ideas during the campaign of 1812 and so on”, St. Petersburg, 1814).

• Order of St. George of the 4th degree (No. 4417; December 18, 1830 ).
• Order of St. Vladimir 4th and 3rd degree
• Order of St. Anne of the 4th and 2nd degrees.
• Prussian Order "Pour le Mérite"

• Bezotosny V. M. Introductory article: Analytical project of military operations in 1812 by P. A. Chuykevich // Russian Archive: History of the Fatherland in evidence and documents of the 18th — 20th centuries: Almanac. - M .: TRITE Studio: Ros. Archive, 1996. - [T.] VII. - S. 41-43.
• Chuykevich, Pyotr Andreyevich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.