The most iconic defeats of Russia
We, brought up in memory of the feat of the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, are comfortable and pleasant to perceive the Russian army as the most powerful and invincible. The narrow-minded characters even stick stickers “We can repeat”, completely not understanding what they are talking about. In reality, the Russian army was the strongest in the world twice: after the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Today, alas, this is not so, and arrogance may not bring to good.
It is reasonable to recall the most famous military disasters that occurred with the Russian army.
Battle of Kalka
It is widely known that in 1223 a coalition of troops of the Russian princes, who came to the aid of their allies, the Polovtsy, whose khans were princely relatives, clashed on the Kalka River with two Mongolian Tumens under the command of Szedaei and Dzhebe. The nomads killed the captured Russian aristocrats in a cruel way: laying on them a plank flooring, on which they arranged a feast on the rights of the winners. It is believed that the forces of the Russian-Polovtsian army outnumbered the Mongols, but lost due to the disunity of the princes. Allegedly after that, the nomads understood that Russia would be easy to conquer, which subsequently led to the Batu invasion.
However, today this idea of events seems to be largely mythological. For example, the military historian and reenactor Klim Zhukov is convinced that in reality the Russian army was significantly inferior in number to the Mongol one. The fact is that men with axes and forks did not go to the steppe on foot to fight. During the Middle Ages, a very narrow circle of people was engaged in military affairs for objective reasons. The feudal lords had at their own expense to supply professional soldiers with weapons, armor, war horses (then fought horseback). It was necessary to feed the horses, keep the warriors. Under conditions of feudal fragmentation under subsistence farming, the princes and their boyars could contain very small squads, the number of which was not thousands, but hundreds of soldiers. The Middle Ages are a time of small armies in Europe.
Most likely, on a long trip to Kalka, a coalition of Russian princes was able to gather only a few thousand horse-drawn warriors with replaceable horses. On the other hand, these units were opposed by the war machine created by Genghis Khan, consisting of numerous nomads constrained by iron discipline. The Russian-Polovtsian army was met by twenty thousand battle-hardened horsemen. There was no chance from the word "completely." The Russians fought bravely, but lost because they could not help but lose.
Cusima
This is the most shameful page in the history of the most shameful war in Russian history. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, our army did not win a single battle, largely due to Minister of War Kuropatkin, who commanded the battle remotely, by telegraph, and even in circumstances favorable for victory, ordered him to retreat.
The reasons for the Tsushima defeat of the Russian fleet are usually attributed to: the best balance of forces in favor of the Japanese, the high speed of their ships that underwent major repairs on the eve, the inspiration of the Japanese command and crews for previous successes, on the one hand, technical the backwardness of the Russian fleet, the passivity and lack of initiative of its command, poor training of personnel, poor intelligence and the general adventurous nature of this campaign, on the other hand. The Russian sailors and officers fought bravely, but their heroism could not change the overall result. Only three ships of their squadron completed the task - to break into Vladivostok. The Russian Empire lost 28 ships, over 5 thousand people were killed, more than 6 thousand were taken prisoner.
In Tsushima, as a mirror, all the weaknesses of tsarist Russia were reflected. Lessons were not learned, and the monarchy got involved in the First World War, which was the beginning of its end.
It is reasonable to recall the most famous military disasters that occurred with the Russian army.
Battle of Kalka
It is widely known that in 1223 a coalition of troops of the Russian princes, who came to the aid of their allies, the Polovtsy, whose khans were princely relatives, clashed on the Kalka River with two Mongolian Tumens under the command of Szedaei and Dzhebe. The nomads killed the captured Russian aristocrats in a cruel way: laying on them a plank flooring, on which they arranged a feast on the rights of the winners. It is believed that the forces of the Russian-Polovtsian army outnumbered the Mongols, but lost due to the disunity of the princes. Allegedly after that, the nomads understood that Russia would be easy to conquer, which subsequently led to the Batu invasion.
However, today this idea of events seems to be largely mythological. For example, the military historian and reenactor Klim Zhukov is convinced that in reality the Russian army was significantly inferior in number to the Mongol one. The fact is that men with axes and forks did not go to the steppe on foot to fight. During the Middle Ages, a very narrow circle of people was engaged in military affairs for objective reasons. The feudal lords had at their own expense to supply professional soldiers with weapons, armor, war horses (then fought horseback). It was necessary to feed the horses, keep the warriors. Under conditions of feudal fragmentation under subsistence farming, the princes and their boyars could contain very small squads, the number of which was not thousands, but hundreds of soldiers. The Middle Ages are a time of small armies in Europe.
Most likely, on a long trip to Kalka, a coalition of Russian princes was able to gather only a few thousand horse-drawn warriors with replaceable horses. On the other hand, these units were opposed by the war machine created by Genghis Khan, consisting of numerous nomads constrained by iron discipline. The Russian-Polovtsian army was met by twenty thousand battle-hardened horsemen. There was no chance from the word "completely." The Russians fought bravely, but lost because they could not help but lose.
Cusima
This is the most shameful page in the history of the most shameful war in Russian history. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, our army did not win a single battle, largely due to Minister of War Kuropatkin, who commanded the battle remotely, by telegraph, and even in circumstances favorable for victory, ordered him to retreat.
The reasons for the Tsushima defeat of the Russian fleet are usually attributed to: the best balance of forces in favor of the Japanese, the high speed of their ships that underwent major repairs on the eve, the inspiration of the Japanese command and crews for previous successes, on the one hand, technical the backwardness of the Russian fleet, the passivity and lack of initiative of its command, poor training of personnel, poor intelligence and the general adventurous nature of this campaign, on the other hand. The Russian sailors and officers fought bravely, but their heroism could not change the overall result. Only three ships of their squadron completed the task - to break into Vladivostok. The Russian Empire lost 28 ships, over 5 thousand people were killed, more than 6 thousand were taken prisoner.
In Tsushima, as a mirror, all the weaknesses of tsarist Russia were reflected. Lessons were not learned, and the monarchy got involved in the First World War, which was the beginning of its end.
Information