Ivan Kazakov - Excerpts from the Memoirs of the 1814 Campaign

As a recent graduate of the elite Page Corps, Kazakov had an idealistic vision of war and, after missing both the 1812 and 1813 Campaigns, he was eager to see some action. In June 1813, at the tender age of sixteen, he finally received his commission as an ensign in the Life Guard Semeyonovskii Regiment, which he joined on its march across Germany.

This fragment is from my forthcoming book Russian Eyewitness Accounts of the Campaign of 1814.


The orders to the army strictly forbade any pillaging (as it usually happened in foreign lands) and troops were instructed to handle fires as carefully as possible. It was all great on paper but impossible to implement in practice: as soon as the army arrived to a place selected for a bivouac, squads were immediately dispatched for provisions, forage for horses, firewood, hay, water – which in itself is a type of pillaging – and the villages located close to an almost 100,000-strong bivouacked army were quickly devastated and plundered despite any orders. [As a rule] an officer was chosen, and an NCO and twenty-five men were selected from each company, which meant some 300 men were selected from a regiment. This [foraging] squad moved in good order to the village, where everyone scattered to find sought-for and essential items. Most local residents had fled or hidden away. So one may wonder – how could one maintain order in a village that is stretched for half a mile and, most importantly, at night time, as most foraging was usually done. Those who reached bivouacs first naturally procured everything quickly and easily, but the last comers were forced to disassemble roofs to obtain some hay and destroy entire homes to get some firewood. Can it be really expected that they would not commit some excesses and steal some unnecessary items in the process? I once witnessed how in a small and almost completely plundered village our commander-in-chief Barclay de Tolly sheltered in a small house. Once can imagine my astonishment when he hastily came out of the house and watched as soldiers removed hay and rafters from his house since neither was necessary in the winter time when it usually did not rain. When the gendarmes and Cossacks began to drive the foragers away from the roof, Barclay de Tolly laughed and ordered them to leave them alone so they did not freeze or go hungry that night. But is not this a clear-cut systematic and organized plunder and robbing which is impossible to avoid? When our army passed through Champagne and Epernay, our foragers frequently returned with barrels of wine instead of water. We saw plenty of cattle abandoned in the fields and villages and thus procured plenty of meat, oftentimes slaughtering cows so beautiful that even painter’s brush could not fully convey their beauty. Meanwhile those same commanders, who issued strictest orders not to burn and plunder, were calmly enjoying this wonderful beef cooked in the best of wines. Such are the inescapable consequences of war that befell heavily on the unfortunate residents on whose fields the armies are deployed for training, tactical or strategic considerations.