"Northern Amurs". The artist Venetsianov A. G. 1st quarter of the 19th century
Northern Cupids is a historically formed name given to Bashkir soldiers by the French during the Napoleonic Wars of 1807-1814. Russian Russian appeared at the end of the Russo-Prussian-French War of 1806-1807 after the battle of June 4, 1807 near Wellau and the contacts of the Russian and French armies at Tilsit during the signing of the peace treaty. It arose under the influence of the Empire style prevailing in European culture at that time. It is connected with the traditional Bashkir weapons (bow and arrow), which the French compared to the ancient god Amur. The nickname "Northern Amurs", or "evil cupids", which was initially ironic, acquired a respectful meaning during the Patriotic War of 1812[1]. History of Bashkir weapons and uniforms Official documents say that Bashkirs had to have weapons "used according to their custom": "rifles, pistols, sabers, pikes and bows, who can use what, and the skill to use without requiring uniformity," "they should be allowed to have clothes according to their custom." In the case of wearing a Cossack uniform, encouragement was required[2]. Bashkirs in 1806-1807 are described by a number of eyewitnesses. D. V. Davydov described in his notes that Bashkirs were "armed with bows and arrows." The bow and arrow, as the main weapon, is also indicated by the British officer Robert Wilson, who was in the Russian army. There are two copies of Jean-Baptiste Breton's book, kept in Paris and Moscow. The illustrations for it were made by Damartre and Englishman Robert Ker-Porter in 1806-1807[3]. "Bashkir soldiers are armed with a long pike decorated with a flag, by which they identify an officer, a saber, a bow and a quiver with twenty arrows.… Their bows are small, have a typical Asian shape and, as a rule, are roughly made. There are few feathers on the ends of the arrows. However, they shoot perfectly, with amazing ease." Another unknown author of the time describes a method of archery: "In battle, a Bashkir moves a quiver from his back to his chest, takes two arrows in his teeth, and puts the other two on the bow and instantly shoots one after the other... Having shot four arrows, he stabs with a pike"[2] The pro-French newspaper Lithuanian Courier wrote about the Bashkirs in 1812: "... back in April, hordes of Kalmyks and Bashkirs armed with bows came." The French officer Michel Comba in his memoirs, describing the events of September 5-6, 1812, writes about the Bashkirs as follows: "... they were armed with bows and arrows, the whistle of which was new to us, and wounded several of our shooters." The pictorial sources are represented mainly by works by unknown authors, the German Shadov, the French Dupressoir Bergeret, Basset, Martinet, the Russian Opitz, A. O. Orlovsky, A. F. Chernyshev, G.G. and N. G. Chernetsov. Studying them shows that most of the authors depicted Bashkirs armed with a bow and arrow, a pike. Only a few have a rifle or a saber, and the sabers are either Russian cavalry, of the 1798 model, or of any shape, or French captured. Why did the Bashkirs participate in the wars of modern times with such archaic weapons? The roots of this phenomenon go back to the 18th century, during the era of the Bashkir uprisings. By decree of February 11, 1736, Bashkirs were forbidden to own firearms, blacksmiths and blacksmiths. Of course, with the introduction of the cantonal management system on April 10, 1798, each canton had to have locksmiths to repair weapons, etc. However, the time interval was very short for most Bashkirs to be able to have and, most importantly— master firearms[2]. The rush to form regiments led to the fact that the vast majority of the soldiers of these regiments were armed only with bows and arrows. The commander of the 5th regiment, Captain Tikhanovsky, wrote about the shortcomings in the armament in his presentation, who "took the correction into his care during the marches." Of course, it was impossible to do this on the march. This was noticed by the commander of the detachment, which included regiments, Adjutant General Prince P. M. Volkonsky. In his letter to Count A. A. Arakcheev dated November 2, he wrote that he had a cavalry "consisting of three Bashkir regiments with arrows"[4]. The military uniform of the Bashkir warrior at that time was different from the uniform of the Russian regular army. The Bashkir yaugir (warrior) wore a long cloth caftan, wide trousers, often blue in color, with red stripes, a pointed felt or cloth cap, boots made of horse leather, a leather sword belt and a pouch. Many soldiers wore iron chain mail under their coats. The elbows were protected by elbow pads. Thus, in 1812-1814, the appearance and uniform of a Bashkir warrior was largely traditional for a nomadic cattle breeder and bore little resemblance to Cossack uniforms. It became so only later, in the 30s of the XIX century[5]. At first, the appearance of the Bashkir warriors provoked ridicule from their compatriots. But later, having shown bravery and bravery in battle, the "northern cupids", as they were called, won honor and respect. Later, the "Cupids" were given Cossack uniforms, but the Bashkirs kept their national hats. And bows were replaced, as far as possible, with captured rifles, pistols or sabers — there was no single standard of armament[6].Historical sources indicate that from the very first years of joining the Russian state, the Bashkirs began to participate in campaigns and wars waged by Russia. By the beginning of the Patriotic War, the Bashkirs already had experience of fighting against the French. They participated in the 1805-1807 war with Napoleonic France. In December 1805, 7,000 Bashkirs, 1,000 Orenburg and Chelyabinsk Cossacks, and 600 Kalmyks headed to the western borders to reinforce the Russian army. Two Bashkir regiments together with the 1st and 2nd Orenburg Cossack regiments under the command of Colonel V. A. Uglitsky, being part of the army of Lieutenant General L. L. Bennigsen, participated in combat operations from May 10, 1807. Since June 4, 1807, two other Bashkir regiments had been in Ataman Platov's corps. According to British representative Officer Robert Wilson, who observed the fighting of Russian troops in Prussia and Poland, 1,500 Bashkirs "with steel helmets and dressed in chain mail" fought with the enemy, who joined Bennigsen's army at Wellau during its retreat after the Battle of Friedland[7].
The Bashkir horsemen left the biggest mark in the Patriotic War of 1812. In April 1811, the 1st and 2nd Bashkir regiments were ordered to be formed. After the invasion of the Napoleonic army into Russia, the involvement of Bashkirs and Cossacks in the ranks of the Russian troops is much expanded. In the first months of the war, 28 regiments were formed on the initiative of the Bashkirs[8].
Bashkir horsemen have developed a peculiar tactic. It is marked by one author:
"40 steps is the average distance for a sure shot (from an arrow). In battle, a Bashkir moves his quiver from his back to his chest, takes two arrows in his teeth, and puts the other two on the bow and instantly shoots one after the other; when attacked, he bends down firmly to the horse and with a piercing cry, with his chest open and sleeves rolled up, boldly rushes at the enemy and, having shot 4 arrows, stabs with a pike"[8]
As part of the army cavalry, Bashkir and Cossack cavalry helped the Russian troops in expelling the French from Hamburg, Erfurt, Berlin, Weimar, and Frankfurt am Main. Nine Bashkir regiments, the 2nd Teptyarsky, the 2nd Misharsky, and the 8th Orenburg Cossack regiments victoriously entered Paris. The participants in the battles received silver medals "For the capture of Paris on March 19, 1814" and other insignia. All participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 were awarded silver medals "In memory of the War of 1812-1814."
During the war, many soldiers were awarded the Orders of St. Anna and St. Vladimir for their special heroism. Among them were Bashkirs: Irnazar Davletchurin, regimental commander of the 1st regiment Ihsan Abubakirov, Ayup Kayupov, Ibrahim Bikchurin, Khusain Kucherbayev, Abdulnasyr Nauruzov, regimental commander of the 14th regiment Abdullah Suragulov, Aralbai Akchulpanov, yesaul Kutlugilde Ishimgulov and others[9].
By taking an active part in the fight against Napoleon, the Bashkir horsemen showed examples of heroism and covered themselves with unfading glory. This is what the French themselves say, having experienced the devastating effects of the Bashkir saber and pike, followed by simple arrows. "We were especially oppressed by Bashkir troops armed with spears and bows," says French memoirist Du Puy.
A participant in the war, the French General Baron de Marbot, who commanded the 23rd light horse-chasseur regiment, and during the days of fierce fighting near Leipzig, Napoleon's personal convoy, recalled: "During our stay on the heights near Pilnica (a German town near Leipzig), the enemy, especially the Russians, received numerous reinforcements, of which the main one under the command of Bennigsen consisted of at least 60 thousand people. These reinforcements were brought from behind Moscow and included a very large number of Bashkirs and Tatars, armed only with bows and arrows... The Bashkirs were so inspired that ... on the very day of their appearance in sight of our troops, countless crowds rushed at them"[10].
The French met the Bashkirs with volleys of rifles and muskets. Bashkirs were killed and wounded. But "these losses," says Marbo, "instead of cooling their frenzy, seemed to only fuel it. And since they moved without any formation and no road hindered them, they darted around our troops like swarms of wasps, sneaking everywhere. It was very difficult to overtake them."
"The Bashkir horsemen really fought bravely. In the most dangerous areas of the battle, they rode "with all the speed of their little horses." „They flew at us in myriads, and the more they killed these wasps, the more they arrived,“ Baron de Marbo complains. The brave horsemen haunted the French Emperor and his army. "The attacks of these barbarians," Marbo continues, "were constantly repeated and the Russians supported them with detachments of Hussars, in order to take advantage of the disorder that the Bashkirs could make in one place or another of our line, the emperor ordered his generals to double their vigilance and to go around the outposts as often as possible." General de Marbot tries to show the Bashkirs as harmless; he notices that the Bashkirs are poorly armed and primitive, and despite this, "semi-savage Asians" dare to fight with the advanced European army.
At the same time, the French general is forced to recognize not only the heroism of the Bashkirs, but also the destructive effect of their weapons — arrows. "One of my bravest non-commissioned officers, Melun, a knight of the Legion of Honor," he writes, "was wounded through the head by an arrow that entered his chest and exited through his back... and I myself," adds General Marbo, "was slightly wounded in the leg by this funny projectile."[10]
Bashkirs amazed Parisians with their bows and arrows; even Walter Scott himself, a famous English writer who visited Paris in those days, paid tribute to them in his travel paintings...". Together with the Cossacks, Bashkir horsemen pranced through the streets of Paris. As the poet N. K. Batyushkov wrote, in those days:
The boulevard in Paris was boiling like this
Idle crowds of people,
When a Cossack flew on it with a whip
Or a Northern Amur with a quiver and arrows.
They were indifferent to money
On the territory of Russia, soldiers took food and goods from the enemy. One tenth of the captured money and belongings were kept for themselves, everything else was given to the treasury. The following case speaks eloquently about the Bashkir attitude to money: a Russian officer on patrol came across a Bashkir commander stuffing money into a leather pillow. He asked him, "What is this for?" — To which Bashkir replied: "This property was taken away from the Frenchman, now it is state property." "Did you keep some for yourself, because who knows how much was there?" the officer asked. The Bashkir commander replied: "Allah will see and punish. This is the emperor's good, it must be returned to the treasury"[9].
They made Napoleon laugh to tears
Even then, the Bashkirs took national instruments with them to the war — kurai and kubyz, as evidenced by paintings and engravings by contemporary artists. During the war with Napoleon, the "Northern Amurs" also learned for the first time what wine and tobacco are.
French General Marbo describes in his memoirs such an episode: 30 Bashkirs from the first cavalry regiment were captured by the French. As a rule, the captured soldiers were disarmed, but they were treated well — they were fed and not beaten. So, at dinner, Bashkirs were given wine to drink. But they weren't used to drinking anything stronger than koumiss, and naturally they quickly got drunk. As a result, they began to sing, dance, and play the kurai. The French, looking at this folk art, laughed a lot.
And not far from that place was Napoleon's own headquarters. He was informed, and he came to look at the wonderful Bashkirs and also laughed for a long time. But the next morning the French had no time for fun — the Cossacks attacked the camp — they freed Bashkirs and 800 more Russian prisoners. They also captured 800 French cavalrymen from Sebastiani's division. Who knows, maybe it was the sounds of the chicken that served as a signal to our scouts that the French had slightly lost their vigilance[9].
Black PR didn't work
When the enemy was driven out of Russia, the Russian troops were tasked with driving the French away to Paris. Napoleon was in a panic — he spread the rumor across Europe that Bashkirs and Cossacks were raping women and even eating children. In large cities, citizens were punished not to open their gates, not to give them food, etc. Napoleon and his generals needlessly terrified the civilian population of Germany, spreading the rumor about the advance of the "wild" Bashkirs. Bashkir cavalry, like all Russian troops, were terrible not for the civilian population, but for the enemy army. They were not looking for an opportunity to plunder and pillage, but were looking for an enemy and victory over him.
In 1814, Bashkirs, having met in Germany with the famous writer — scientist Goethe, tried to leave the best impression about themselves. The head of the Bashkir detachment, having seen Goethe's personal rich museum, presented him with his military weapon — a bow and arrow. Eleven years after visiting the Bashkirs, old Goethe admiringly showed this precious gift to his friend I. P. Eckerman[8][9].
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