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242561455
242561455
Suvorov, on the other hand, when while on a campaign lived as a private soldier, sleeping on
straw and contenting himself with the humblest fare.
“ART OF VICTORY”
THE CREATION
OF THE GLORIOUS, ALWAYS VICTORIOUS
GENERALISSIMO
OF RUSSIAN ARMY
PRINCE OF ITALY, COUNT OF RYMNIK
Learning starts
Attention, fall in, training will start-moves and turns on command, issued by the move of the flag
or the drum beat.
Fire
Prepare to fire! Ready your weapons!-fire platoon, company, battalion. While loading weapon do
not put the gunstock on the ground, as the ramrod will bounce and the charge will not be
properly loaded.
Aim down the barrel, put the gunstock firmly at your right shoulder and support the rifle with
your left hand-the bullet will hit at the half of the man’s body.
Take care of your bullets, clean your weapons between the target practices, and other
shootouts, save ammunition-do not waste it.
Platoon fire! No retreat. On the signal of the drums for advance, fire one to two bullets towards
the enemy.
Attack on the first enemy line! Use bayonet, Hurrah! Platoon commanders: yell hit them hard,
soldiers yell at the top of your voice: Hurrah! Detach shortly from the enemy (to load and
regroup swiftly).
Enemy cavalry rides to the rescue of his infantry: Attack them! Place your bayonet at the height
of the rider’s belly; the bayonet will hit the face, neck or the chest of the horses. Detach shortly
from the enemy (to load and regroup swiftly).
Attack the second enemy line or enemy reserves. Detach shortly from the enemy (to load and
regroup swiftly).
The third attack. Instantly form the line. Forward! Let no one dare to move back, not a step
back. Forward, March! Platoons, companies, battalions! While marching platoons form into
companies or companies break into platoons. Soldiers at the end of the line march one step,
soldiers in the beginning of the line half a step. Drums start, and beat for three times (until the
soldiers align), and then it is replaced by music, which plays the whole command, pack the
drums. Music and drums replace each other in a row. Beat must be fast, to induce the fast step
of soldiers marching. Observe the intervals between platoons, so that when issuing command
STOP! All the platoons form a line.
First and second part of the line, from left and right; March, march into attack-Forward march!
If the enemy is firing canister shots, stop and hold your ground, and then march forward, with
the drums sounding slow march.
When at 80 meters from the enemy, you are at 10 to 15 steps inside the range of the large field
artillery cannons canister fire, at 60 meters you are in the range of canister fire of smaller
cannons and when at 60 steps from the enemy, you are at range of the muskets.
Charge, charge, use bayonet, Hurrah!-the enemy will fire for the last time, and prepare for the
bayonet battle when at 30 steps distance. Both sides will go into penetrating attack.
The second line will follow the first in the same manner, Attack! Both lines attack at the same
place. Deploy into columns and try to surround the enemy, if there is a space.
Attack by column
Both lines to form one or two columns; depending on the number of people.
Prepare for attack by column! Forward march! – The drum beats the slow march 60 steps from
one another.
Charge! Charge!! Attack with bayonets! Hurrah! - Place muskets in the right hand, columns
strike trough fast, while hitting the enemy. Columns, form kare! Prepare to fire! Fire platoon!
Kare is already in place. Soldiers shoot at the fleeing enemy, aim at the officers, and fire at the
crowds.
Charge, charge, attack, use bayonet, Hurrah! – Start the strike trough with kare.
Fire, finish them off, and destroy the remaining between kares. Drum sounds the short regroup.
Attack by kare
Columns, form kare! Kare forward march! Charge, charge, attack! Use bayonets! Hurrah! - do
not shoot, just attack with bayonets.
Kare, form a line! The soldiers are swinging into the line or if the situation requires into a
column or four by four. Form a line! Forward march! –As the drum beats.
Note: all the basic maneuvers and lineups are the same for the battalions, brigades
and higher units.
The following are the thoughts about the additional training introduced by some of the
commanders:
And therefore create confusion, as it is hasted request; it is better to have a single shot fire,
which will come to a platoon fire on itself, and for the sake of the ammunition economy at every
shot a soldier should aim at his own opponent and hit it.
Salve (volley)? - Only prior to cleaning weapons, and while forming ranks. Against the enemy it
does not work, as he can be driven out by bayonet and then charged.
Platoon fire while chasing the enemy? – If the enemy is routed and dispersed it will not have big
effect, especially against the cavalry.
Platoon fire while retreating? – It is better even not to think about them, as well as it is better
not to think about retreating at all.
This is because soldier should not be trained to think about the retreat, but rather attack, as he
should always believe that he is better than his enemy. In battle the commander decides on
attack or retreat, but when the enemy is gaining then the best solution is to hold your ground,
as this is the only way you can hope to overcome the danger-by seeing it.
Training the soldiers in the knowledge they
need for war
After the MANEUVERING AND LINEUP training, and after the rest period, at dawn the officers
should wake up their soldiers and command attention.
The soldiers should stand in line like an arrow; officer can see the forth in line but not the fifth.
Soldiers step while marching is meter long, while swinging half a meter.
Each soldier should have his shoulder aligned with the shoulder of the next one. Lines should be
three steps apart while standing, and two steps while marching. Drums must not confuse.
Attack
Take enough ammunition for three days, never for the whole campaign, as it will burden you. Do
not fire in vain, count your bullets, use bayonet viciously. Bullet can misfire, bayonet cannot
misfire, and bullet is a full bayonet is a hero.
Hit with bayonet only one time at one opponent. Throw the body away with a bayonet. If he
tries to hit you with a saber, jump back a step hit him again! Hit the second one, the third one!
True hero can kill half a dozen, but I have seen even better.
Save the bullet in a barrel! If attacked by three - first one slay with the bayonet, gun down the
second one and the third one hit with the gunstock.
Do not be sluggish in attack! Fire when certain to hit. Be sure to aim and do not waste
ammunition. If not aiming the company will waste 30 bullets in a volley and the field artillery will
waste even more.
When enemy fires canister shot-lay down, it will fly over your head! Jump up, shoot directly at
artillery, storm them and hit with bayonet! When they surrender do not kill an unarmed man. It
is a sin to kill needlessly, they are also humans.
Give your life for the love of the God, for your family, for your home, for the country! Prey for
the people who gave their life. Who stays alive he will get the honor and glory.
Do not hurt or dishonor the locals, they are providing us with food and water. Soldiers are not
robbers.
Divide the conquered wealth among the soldiers, if they storm the enemy camp all what they
capture is theirs, if they storm the fortress, all what they capture is theirs. At Ismail we gave
soldiers handfuls of silver and gold. But do not allow looting; only organized division is allowed.
In the battle in the field there are three ways to attack: at the week flank. But if the stronger
flank is concealed by forest this is not a wise attack.
The soldier will overcome the mud; over the river it is difficult, without the bridge you will not
cross. Any trench or a wall can be stormed.
To attack at the centre is not recommended, except if the cavalry can provide good support.
Attack at the back is excellent, but up to unit size of brigade, as it is difficult to go around an
army.
When fighting in the fields, use the linear formation against the regular armies, use kare against
the infidels, and do not use columns. I can happen that against the Turks that you can break
their ranks of five to seven thousand by flanking them with kares, then fly into column. But until
now there were no chances to do this.
There are godless, windy, extravagant Frenchmen that are fighting the Germans and other in
columns. If it happened that we need to fight against them, then we ought to beat them as
columns.
Battle on the trenches is the same as the field one, trench is not deep, wall is not high. Jump
into the trench, storm over the wall, hit them with bayonet, destroy, rout them, and take
prisoners. Remember to cut. Use cavalry, in Prague the infantry has built a whole fortress, attack
in columns.
Onslaught
Jump over the palisades, pour into the trench, and put the ladders! Sharpshooters, fire on the
retreating columns of the enemy, aim the commanders. Columns fly over the walls, create a
human scaffold if needed, and form the line on the wall!
Take the ammunition and weapons depot, open the gates for cavalry! If the enemy is fleeing
into the city, shoot at them, fire trough the streets, and throw grenades viciously! No time to
waste, command to enter the city and slay the enemy in the streets! Cavalry, crush the enemy!
Do not enter houses; destroy the enemy at the open ground! Storm the enemy strongpoint!
Instantly put pickets at the gate, cellars, and shops! The enemy surrendered – show him mercy!
The stronghold is taken- extraction!
Art of war
First one: Asses and adapt to situation: where to make the camp, where and how to move,
where to attack, charge and fight.
Second: speed. Move half a kilometer to a kilometer in advance of the field artillery, so the
terrain would not interfere. When columns get closer the artillery will again have its influence.
On narrow roads, bridges, streets, marshes go by two or by four in lines, and only when
attacking the enemy form ranks and platoons.
Do not stop, push forward, dance, sing, beat the drum, let the music play!
When you cross 10 km, first platoon get your backpacks off, take some rest! Then the second
platoon, third and so on and so forth. The first ones should not wait for the last ones; line should
form into column on the go, two-by-two in the move form four-by-four.
That is why the first platoons would wait for the last ones for half an hour in vain.
After the first ten kilometers have an hour rest. The first platoon jumps up and puts its wings
(backpacks) on, and moves forward. When traversing the narrow pass, form line ten to fifty
steps after the pass. Every next platoon does the same until the last one, so that the last ones
can have their time to rest.
After crossing another 10 kilometers-have some rest. You can have rest for more than one hour.
If the third part of the march is shorter than 10km, then divide the distance in a half, and after
the first half have at least a half an hour rest so that you can have some food. This is for the
infantry.
Cavalry, march for 10km and dismount so that the horses can have rest.
The supply wagons should form into a camp. The brothers have come and the food should be
served. Artillery commander organize the meal.
At breakfast stay for four hours, sleeping for six to eight hours, depending on the road. When
getting close to the enemy the supply wagons should always be ready for the fast move.
With this speed people will not get tired, and while the enemy thinks we are far away, we poor
on him like the snow, so that his head will spin. Attack, attack, and whit whatever God has
granted us! Cavalry, charge! Crush, break trough, destroy, and do not stall! Hurrah! Soldiers, my
brothers, are making wonders!
Attack
Third element: onslaught. One foot supports the other, one hand helps the other. Our fire kills a
lot of enemies, and there is no enemy that does not fear the Russian bayonets.
Stretch the line, attack with a bayonet! No time to spread the line, charge with bayonets! Here
comes the cavalry. If there field is flat for one kilometer or more, when the enemy is firing
canister shots get down, fire.
Usually the cavalry will charge in front and the infantry will follow the cavalry. But never break
the ranks!
Cavalry must be able to fight on any ground, same as infantry, except trough the deep mud.
At this ground dismount and pull your horses’ trough. Kazaks will push trough anything. In the
final attack to victory cavalry should pursuit the enemy and destroy it! Infantry should not lag
behind the cavalry.
In two lines is the hitting power, in the third is the half of the hitting power: first line is fighting,
second line is breaking trough, and the third line is pursuing and destroying.
Infirmary
Beware, you poor souls! German medicines that we get are rotten, inadequate and with limited
effect. Russian soldiers are not fit for those medicines.
We have our own herbal medicines, but before everything else preserve your health while on the
road. Do not allow your stomach to be clogged. Sometimes the hunger is the best medicine. If
the senior officer does not take care of his people put him to jail. If the junior officer does not
take care of his soldiers beat him with a stick, if the soldier does not take care of himself beat
him with a stick.
Soft stomach would want bread and a soup; hardened stomach should get an herbal soup.
Remember gentleman, the words of the doctor. If heaving a fever do not eat up to twelve days,
except soups and medicine. And do not use anything that you are not sure it will help you.
If the first day puts a man into a soft bed, second day provides French bread, on the third day
he will end up in a casket.
But all of this is unimportant if you know how to protect yourself from disease, eat and drink
healthy and maintain your personal hygiene.
Knights! Enemy is afraid of you. But there are enemies that are also amongst our ranks, the god
dam “I cannot know how” are the worst of all. They are cunning, sweat talking, two faced
lowlifes; I cannot even find proper words, but beware: “I cannot know how” brings a lot of
misery and misfortune!
Soldier needs to be healthy, courageous, hard, determined, and just, with high moral. Pray to
God! He is granting us victory. My wonder knights! The God leads you; he must be your general.
If a senior officer is “I cannot know how” put him to jail, if a member of general staff is “I cannot
know how” than confine him to his quarters.
Knowledge is light, ignorance is darkness! The art is just a work of a master. And if the farmer
does not know how to plow - the bread will not be made.
For the one who has the knowledge I give three ignorant. And even this would not be enough,
give six, and give ten even. The knowledgeable will beat them all.
In the last campaign the enemy lost 75 000, maybe even a full 100 00 of his soldiers, we did not
lose 500.
And in the end the whole army must repeat the following at the top of the voice:
Subordination
Practice
Obedience
Discipline
Military order
Hygiene
Health
Courage
Valor
Tidiness
Strong hart
Victory!