The art of military engineering as one of the elements of military affairs appeared in ancient times. Even then, the Egyptians, Greeks, Slavs skillfully used wood, clay, stone as building materials and formed detachments that were engaged in the construction of siege machines. These were the original engineering troops of the ancient world. The origins of the domestic military engineering art also go back to ancient times. Our ancestors - the ancient Slavs, while protecting their lands and settlements, erected fortifications, built bridges, paved paths, prepared river crossings.

On the podiums of the hall there are models of fortifications of the Eastern Slavs. These fortifications were built of wood and earth. Depending on the size and power of the fences, they were called ostrozhkas, fortified settlements (from the words "fence", "fence"). A good example the device of defensive structures can serve as a model of the fence of the ancient settlement of Bereznyaki (in the Yaroslavl region), made on the basis of archaeological data. This settlement existed already in the III-IV centuries. and was excavated in 1934-1935. It belongs to the most ancient East Slavic fortifications, from which later Russian cities grew. The settlement was located on a steep slope washed by the river. Sonokhta. Its fence consisted of two massive fence posts. The gap, reaching two and a half meters, was filled with earth and a log wall.

The ancient Russian state - Kievan Rus by the middle of the 10th century. became one of the largest in Europe. The constant threat of an attack by warlike neighbors - the Varangians, Khazars, Pechenegs, Polovtsians - required special measures to protect the state. Large cities like Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Galich were surrounded by powerful walls. Border fortifications were built in the east, south and west of Kievan Rus. A typical example of the arrangement of defensive structures of that time is shown on the model of a fragment of the city wall of the ancient city of Belgorod (now the village of Belgorodka, 25 km west of Kiev), built in the 10th century. The city was fortified by the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 991 and was one of the most important barrage points on the approaches to the capital of the ancient Russian state. The basis of the fence is three-walled log cabins (gorodni), filled with raw bricks or clay and sprinkled with earth. The fence retained its defensive significance even when its upper wooden part was destroyed by fire. The layout of the fence section is presented in the hall.

An example of a combination of stone and wood in defensive structures of the 12th century. are the Golden Gate (part of the fortification of the city of Vladimir on the Klyazma), built of white limestone (1158-1164) during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky. The Golden Gate is one of the oldest stone structures in Russia. The gate was a drive-through stone tower with a church at the top. The tower was adjoined by the walls of a wooden defensive fence. The drawbridge additionally strengthened the defense, covering the gate of the tower when it was raised. The gates were called "golden" because their massive oak doors were originally upholstered with gilded copper sheets. Rebuilt in the 19th century. after the demolition of the walls that strengthened them from the sides, the gates have survived to our time. The model of the Golden Gate is shown in the exhibition.

The painting "Russian fortress city of the XI-XVI centuries" by artist V. Izmailovich reproduces the elements of engineering support of ancient Russian settlements.

In Russia, in the lands not affected by the Mongol-Tatar invasion, stone fortifications are found as early as the XIII-XIV centuries. An example of this is the fortress walls of the city of Porkhov, built in 1387. The model of the fortified city is also presented in the hall. The walls are 4 m thick and 8 m high, built of cut stone and bricks. Towers up to 10 m high served as an auxiliary defensive structure and a means of observing the enemy. Such structures were typical for Russia at that time.

On the end walls of the hall are portraits of the great dukes of Moscow Ivan III and his grandson - the first Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible (artist P. Sergeev). Under Ivan III, foreign specialists began to be invited to Moscow to study engineering. During his reign, Russian and Italian architects-fortifiers erected a new Moscow Kremlin. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, special detachments began to be created - the "troopers", the prototype of the engineering troops. They were subdivided into city dwellers - specialists in the art of siege, bridge builders - road builders, "vicious deeds" masters - builders of "vices" (siege engines). On campaigns, a small detachment followed in front of the main forces, which ensured the advance of the troops, that is, performed the duties of modern sappers. The detachment laid roads, established crossings, removed obstacles, repaired and erected bridges. In the hall you can see the weapons and equipment of Russian soldiers of the 16th-17th centuries.

There are practically no written documents from which the activities of the engineering troops in the Russian army of the pre-Petrine time would have been visible, but there is no doubt that they existed and were widely used. It is known that engineering affairs were under the jurisdiction of the Cannon (Pushkar) order. Even during the assault on Kazan in 1552, Russian miners, having made four undermines, blew up the walls of the Kremlin in several places, which predetermined the success of the assault. Samples of means of detonation of the XVI-XVII centuries. (sausages, fire candles, black powder) are displayed in display cases.

During the battles, the Russian troops used a mobile field fortification built of wooden shields - "gulyai-gorod", which moved on skids or wheels. Through the loopholes of the "walk-gorod" it was possible to fire at the enemy. The first mention of the use of this structure in battle dates back to 1522. A photographic reconstruction of the "gulyai-gorod" is shown in the hall.

On the southern borders of the Russian state, from the raids of the Crimean Tatars, serif lines, or lines, were built. They included both natural obstacles - forests, swamps, rivers, lakes, ravines, and artificial - forest heaps, notches, ramparts, ditches, lines of log posts, timber and earth fortifications. The width of the serif lines reached several tens of meters.

The first (Tula) notch line was built in the 50s. XVI century, its length reached 1000 km. To the south of this line, a special guard service was organized to monitor the movements of the enemy. In the summer, a line on the river. Oka was occupied by Russian troops, thus forestalling the raids of the Tatars. In the years 1630-1640. in connection with the movement of the border of the Russian state to the south, a second large notch line was built - Belgorod. In the exhibition you can see the diagrams of these serifs.

The advent of firearms amended the construction of fortifications. During the construction of the Novgorod Kremlin in 1483-1493. "Pechuras" (casemates) were arranged in the towers and walls to accommodate artillery. The stone Novgorod Kremlin was built in 1490, the thickness of its walls was increased to 4.5 m.

An interesting example of the Russian classical fortress building of the 17th century. are fortifications of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery (now the town of Kirillov, Vologda region). A model of the monastery is on display in the hall.

From the walls it was possible to fire from hand-held firearms, and from the towers - from the same weapons and cannons. The monastery fortress withstood the siege of the Polish-Lithuanian invaders in 1612-1613. and until 1616 repulsed several enemy attacks. The Moscow Tower of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is also shown here (sectional layout). It was built of bricks in 1667 and had six battle tiers. The height of the tower reached 55, up to the battlements - 25-30 m, diameter - 20 m, average wall thickness - 3 m. The tower was adapted for firing cannons and hand-held firearms.

In the photo in the hall you can see the Smolensk fortress, built in 1596-1602. the outstanding Russian builder Fyodor Kon. She occupied an important strategic position in the system of fortresses of the Moscow state. Powerful fortress walls 6.5 km long with 38 towers reached heights from 13 to 19 m and were 5-6 m thick. In 1609-1611. Smolensk withstood the siege of the troops of the Polish king Sigismund III for 20 months. The city was taken by storm only when there were only two hundred people left in its garrison capable of fighting.

The first written source, which describes the engineering measures to support the battle, is the "Charter of military, cannon and other matters related to military science", drawn up in 1607 and supplemented in 1621. clerk of the Ambassadorial order Anisim Mikhailovich Radishevsky (Anisim Mikhailov). It outlined the Western European experience of military affairs of that time. Much attention was paid to the issues of military engineering: the defense and siege of cities, the arrangement of trenches (trenches), mine and countermine warfare. It provided an advanced system for the organization of engineering troops for its time, which included detachments of trenchmen (sappers), miners (miners), as well as a ferry fleet of five boats transported by carts. The title page of this charter is presented at the exhibition.

Peter the Great is rightfully considered the creator of the regular engineering troops. In the center of the hall there is an equestrian statue of the first Russian emperor (model of the sculptor B.-K. Rastrelli). This is one of the versions of the first monument to Peter I in Russia. The lead model was cast during the lifetime of the founder of St. Petersburg. Then, by order of Paul I, the monument was made in bronze and installed in 1800 in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle.

During the first siege of Narva in 1700, the use of miners is mentioned. A number of historians point to the existence of a miner company in 1702. It is noteworthy that earlier than the first mention of the engineering units themselves, there is a mention of the creation of an educational institution for the training of military engineers. On January 10, 1701, Peter I issued a decree on the establishment in Moscow of the Pushkarsky Prikaz school, which trained artillery officers and military engineers.

It should be noted that in those days (as before) engineering was considered a part of artillery science, and engineering units for a long time were part of the staff of artillery units. This is not accidental, since, firstly, it was the artillery that first of all needed roads, ferries, the construction of forts, and the covering of positions with mines; secondly, engineering, like artillery, required literate, educated people ("scientists"). On January 16, 1712, Peter I ordered to separate the engineering school from the school of the Pushkar Prikaz and expand it. Then he created the St. Petersburg School of Engineering (1719), in 1723 he transferred the Moscow School to St. Petersburg and unites them. These schools trained non-commissioned and chief officers of the engineering troops. To increase the attractiveness of educational institutions and to emphasize the importance of the engineering troops, in the Table of Ranks of 1722, Peter I ranked officers of the engineering troops (as well as artillerymen) one rank higher than the officers of the infantry and cavalry. "Engineers and miner officers, both in ranks and in salaries from army officers, are higher for the fact that they are superior officers, who only serve with a single sword, are superior in science ... and army officers are skillful in engineering, before others are made to higher ranks ..." , - wrote Peter. It should be emphasized that the first educational institutions for the training of officers of infantry and cavalry will be created only in 1731.

In 1712, Peter I decided to streamline the structure of the Russian army. By his order, the staffs of the regiments were prepared (staff is a document in which it is written how many and what units to have in the regiment, the number of each unit). According to the staff of the artillery regiment on February 8, 1712, in addition to artillery units, it had a mine company (75 people), an engineering team (35 people) and a pontoon team (36 people). It is noteworthy that engineering units accounted for 14% of the regiment's personnel. A photocopy of this staffing table can be seen in the display case.

In the decisive battle of the Northern War (1700-1721) - the famous Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709, Russian troops won a brilliant victory over the Swedes. The success of the Russian army in this battle was largely facilitated by the skillful engineering preparation of the battlefield. In order to force the Swedish army to turn around prematurely, before meeting the main forces of the Russian troops, a forward position was built from two lines of redoubts (six in the first line and four in the second), perpendicular to each other.

In each line between the redoubts, free gaps were left equal to the range of rifle fire, which contributed to the stability and activity of the defense. Such an arrangement of redoubts made it possible not only to separate the advancing Swedish troops, but also to hit them with fire, and then to actively operate the Russian cavalry. In the system of redoubts, the idea of \u200b\u200bengineering equipment of the terrain was laid to ensure defense and the subsequent transition to the offensive. This is reproduced with documentary accuracy on the "Poltava Battle" model located in the center of the hall.

There is also a model of the Poltava fortress, which courageously defended under the command of Colonel A.S. Kelin for two months (from April to June 1709) from the many times superior troops of Charles XII. Nearby are drawings of the uniform of the Russian army: fusiliers of infantry regiments (1700-1720), a blacksmith and a carpenter (2nd quarter of the 18th century); conductor, non-commissioned officer of the engineering team of the artillery regiment (early 18th century). The engineering armament of the Russian army of the 1st quarter of the 18th century is described in detail. In the windows you can see the personal weapons of the soldiers: an infantry flintlock rifle, a flintlock pistol, a sapper's cleaver, a cavalry saber, a horse-jaeger rifle.

The exposition contains bas-reliefs in memory of the capture of Narva (1704), Dorpat (1704), Vyborg (1710) and Stettin (1713), made in the middle of the 18th century, award and commemorative medals of Peter's time, as well as medals issued for the 100th anniversary The Battle of Poltava and the 200th anniversary of the Gangut battle.

A. E. Kotsebue. The assault of the Noteburg fortress on October 11, 1702 1846

On the wall there is a large battle painting "The assault on the Noteburg fortress on October 11, 1702" (artist A. Kotzebue). The picture not only tells about one of the most dramatic episodes of the Northern War, but also gives an idea of \u200b\u200bthe conduct of the siege and the landing craft of that time. In the foreground - against the background of the storming of the fortress - Tsar Peter I is in command of a mortar battery. To his left, Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev receives a letter from the Swedish envoy.

Noteburg, renamed by Peter I to Shlisselburg (Klyuch-Gorod), became the first outpost of Russian troops on the Neva banks. On May 16 (27), 1703, the fortress of St. Petersburg (Fortress of St. Peter), the future capital of the Russian Empire, was laid on the Hare Island. The mock-up of this timber-earth fortress and bastion-type crownwork is shown in the hall.

Second half of the 18th century marked by the further development of the engineering troops of the Russian army and the improvement of military engineering art.

In 1753, engineer-general Abram Petrovich Hannibal (1697-1781), the famous "arap of Peter the Great", great-grandfather of A.S. Pushkin, was appointed the head of the engineering school. Prince M.I.Golenishchev-Kutuzov graduated from this school as an engineer ensign. He was sent to serve in the Astrakhan regiment, whose commander at that time was Colonel A.V. Suvorov.

By the beginning of the Seven Years War, the army had only a mine company (120 people) and a pontoon team (30 people). But already in 1757 the mine company was deployed into an engineering regiment (1,830 people), and the pontoon team - into a pontoon unit of 300 people.

The regiment provided road repair, construction of crossings, carried out trenching, underground mine and other engineering work. The showcase displays shelf organization diagrams and title page books by captain Andrey Dumb "A guide to knowledge about the marching places used by the troops, and especially canvas pontoons."

During the Seven Years War, the engineering troops, in addition to the trench (shovels, picks, saws, axes, crowbars, pawns), measuring and simple lifting tools, receive a canvas pontoon park (a set of elements for the construction of a floating bridge) designed by A. Dumb. This park has been in service with the Russian army for over 150 years, and only 103 years after its invention, they armed their engineering units of the army of Western Europe with it. The model of the pontoon designed by A. Dumb is presented in the hall.

The great Russian commander A.V. Suvorov did a lot for the development of military engineering. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. engineering troops ensured crossings over water barriers and sieged fortresses.

In the Italian and Swiss campaigns, the engineering units of the Russian army went ahead of the advancing columns, paving the way in the mountainous and wooded terrain. In the exposition you can see an engraving dedicated to the capture of the Khotin fortress (1769), a lithograph by the artist B. Mestropen "The storming of the Turkish fortress Izmail by Russian troops led by A. Suvorov." In the hall there is also a portrait of the famous commander by the artist K. Steiben (Steibe).

A striking example of the successful use of engineering troops is the storming of Izmail on December 11, 1790. Suvorov ordered a thorough engineering reconnaissance of the fortress, and sappers erect similar fortifications near it, on which the troops trained in the assault. To fill the ditches in front of the fortress wall, sappers prepared a large number of fascines (bunches of brushwood tied with ropes), assault ladders, erected field fortifications for siege weapons, and covered the paths of possible outings of the Turks with slingshots and wolf pits. For several weeks, sappers illuminated the fortress with flares every night, simulating the beginning of an assault in order to exhaust the garrison. The pioneer units were included in the assault columns: their task was to make passages in the barriers of the Turks, to blow up walls. They completed their tasks successfully, which largely ensured the success of the assault. Its participants were awarded the cross "For the capture of Ishmael."

At the end of the 18th century. Emperor Paul I considered engineering troops an integral part of the army. By his order in 1797 a pioneer regiment of three battalions was formed, each battalion consisted of three pioneer (advanced sapper) companies and one miner. The exhibition features a genuine headdress of an ordinary pioneer.

As a result of the state transformations of Emperor Alexander I, the War Ministry was created (1802), in which artillery and engineering expeditions existed as independent departments. Each of the expeditions was responsible for its own branch of the military, its training, manning, weapons. So there was an almost complete separation of the engineering troops from the artillery.
Only pontoon units remained in the artillery department. However, until 1918, the engineering troops wore uniforms that were the same as the artillery. It differed only in the silver color of the metal device of the uniform (against the gold one for artillery) and emblems (crossed axes instead of crossed guns). In the windows you can see watercolors depicting the uniform of the L.-GV. engineer battalion 1812-1825, as well as a portrait of Major General H.F. Schwanebeck (1763-1820) - chief of the 1st pioneer regiment and vice-director of the engineering department.

Alexander I deployed engineering troops by 1803 up to two pioneer regiments. The lithograph shows an image of privates of Life Guards. horse pioneer squadron. Nearby in the showcase are their weapons: infantry and horse-jaeger rifles, a cavalry pistol, an officer's sword, a saber and sapper sword.

In total, by the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, the Russian army had 10 pioneer and mine workers in the field troops, as well as several pontoon companies. There were also 14 pioneer and miner companies in the fortresses. There were no soldiers in these companies, but only specialist officers and conductors. The labor force for engineering work was recruited from among local residents, infantry soldiers. Already in the process of the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the border, the engineering troops largely contributed to the success of this maneuver. They erected 178 bridges on the route of the Russian army and repaired 1,920 versts of roads. They, retreating last, burned bridges on the way of the French, blew up land mines, destroyed roads, etc.

A military engineer by training himself, Field Marshal M.I.Golenishchev-Kutuzov had an excellent idea of \u200b\u200bthe role that engineering units could play in battles. Having assumed command of the Russian army, Kutuzov unites all pioneer companies in two military brigades under a single command of Major General P. N. Ivashov (1767-1838). These brigades played an important role in increasing the stability of the defense of the Russian army on the Borodino field, having built a whole system of field fortifications. The exposition presents drawings of Russians engineering structures, erected on the Borodino field. The main battles flared up for the capture of the Shevardinsky redoubt, the Raevsky battery, the Bagration flushes. The attacks of Napoleon's infantry broke up against these fortifications throughout the day of the Battle of Borodino.

In the center of the hall there is a model of the Tarutino fortified camp of the Russian troops. Leaving Moscow, M.I. Kutuzov made a flanking maneuver and took up a position near the village of Tarutino, where a fortified camp was set up. From the front, the camp was covered by the river. Naroy. There were 13 flushes on the right bank. On the left flank, adjacent to the forest, there are notches and trenches for guards. Work to strengthen the camp was carried out by 5 pioneer and one mine company.

Preparing a counteroffensive, Kutuzov, in order to increase the mobility of his troops, ordered Ivashov to create a mounted engineering detachment of 600 people, whose tasks were: conducting engineering reconnaissance ahead of the advancing troops, repairing roads, restoring bridges, finding fords ahead of the troops, preventing the French who were trying to destroy bridges.

Alexander I, delighted with the efficiency of the engineering units, in December 1812 ordered the creation of Life Guards. Sapper battalion.

By the beginning of the overseas campaign, the engineering troops were deployed into two pioneer and one sapper regiments. Thus, the number of engineering companies was increased to 40.

The hall displays numerous materials characterizing the organization of the Russian engineering troops during the Patriotic War of 1812. There are drawings depicting sapper soldiers, portraits of officers of the engineering troops. Among them, the future Decembrist S.I. Muravyov-Apostol - an officer in the corps of railway engineers; General engineer P.L. Schilling von Kanstadt - inventor of the electric telegraph and the electric method of blasting. P.L. Schilling proposed to detonate powder charges and mines at a distance with the help of a coal fuse invented by him and a galvanic current transmitted through wires. A volt pole was used as a current source. He demonstrated his invention in October 1812 in St. Petersburg, blowing up mines installed under water in the Neva.

The following models are presented in the hall: coal fuse, volt pillar, underwater land mine. Models of pontoons are of great interest: for a horse-pioneer squadron, a sapper wooden, a bow half-pontoon of the Birago system, a horse-pioneer pontoon (leather).

The war revealed a shortage of engineering officers and the growing role of engineering troops. In 1819, all engineering schools were merged into the Main Engineering School. This school was housed in the Mikhailovsky Castle, which since that time has received the name "Engineering Castle". The school became the main one educational institution engineering troops for many decades.

The hall displays copies of documents related to the history of military engineering education, extracts from the Regulations of the Main Engineering School, documents on the formation of the Nikolaev Engineering Academy. On the walls are portraits of the management staff and graduates of the school and the academy, such as the first head of the Main Engineering School, created on November 24, 1819, Major General E.K.Sivers, as well as the founder of the Russian fortification school, Lieutenant General A.Z. Telyakovsky.

The engineering units were of great importance during the siege of fortresses. They not only procured materials for siege work, built batteries, led approaches with glanders, but also carried out demolition work. The painting by the artist A. Zauerweid depicts a brilliant engineering attack on the Turkish fortress of Varna by the Life Guards. Sapper battalion on September 23, 1828 during the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829. On the eve of the attack, the sappers brought a mine gallery under the rampart of the second bastion and laid a charge. Non-commissioned officer Andrei Sheinevande set fire to a burning candle to detonate a mine, but there was no explosion. Then he rushed back to the gallery, blew away the ashes formed on the sausage from a completely burned out candle. An explosion occurred, as a result of which more than 600 Turks died under the ruins of the bastion. The brave sapper himself was killed.

The windows display medals "For the Turkish War of 1828-1829", "In memory of the capture of Kars", "In memory of the capture of Brailov" and others, as well as models of engineering structures of that time.

A significant section of the exposition is devoted to the engineering support of military operations during the period Crimean War 1853-1856

By the beginning of the war, the Russian army had 9 sapper battalions, one training battalion, two reserve battalions and two cavalry pioneer battalions. The main event of the Crimean War was the heroic defense of Sevastopol, which lasted from September 1854 to August 1855. Russian sappers displayed examples of courage and heroism in those days. The defense of Sevastopol was headed by Admiral V.N.Kornilov. His assistants were Vice Admiral PS Nakhimov and Rear Admiral V.I. Istomin. The military engineering leadership of the defensive work was carried out by the former pupil of the Main Engineering School E.I. Totleben.

In peacetime, a serious mistake was made in the creation of Sevastopol as a fortress, the construction of which did not provide for the storming of the city from land. Only with the beginning of the war the defensive structures of Sevastopol were hastily erected by the field engineering units. The system of fortifications created by Totleben turned out to be so perfect that it withstood the attacks of the British, French and Turks for almost a year.

It is noteworthy that when in 1942 the Nazis occupied Sevastopol, they took under protection the monument to Totleben. It turned out that his system of fortifications was studied in detail in German academies as proof of the superiority of the German nation (German by origin, Totleben was born and raised in Russia, graduated from an engineering school in St. Petersburg).

For the first time in the history of military engineering, according to the project of engineer Buchmeer, in 1855 a floating bridge 940 m long was built across the Northern Bay in 28 days. The relief model of the bay is placed in the hall. A model of the monument to Totleben erected in Sevastopol is also exhibited here.

When the attacks of the Russian fortifications were unsuccessful, the British and French began an underground mine war, digging under the Sevastopol fortifications. However, the Russian sappers were at their best here too. They successfully led counter-mine galleries, used the electric method of blasting. Suffice it to say that the enemy paved only 1280 m of underground galleries, and Russian sappers - about 7 thousand m.

Underground mine work was supervised by Staff Captain A.V. Melnikov, who was almost continuously with the soldiers in the mine galleries. Military engineer Colonel Polzikov acted vigorously.
In the defense of Sevastopol, the system of fortifications developed by professor of the Main Engineering School A.Z. Telyakovsky found creative application. Portraits of the defenders of Sevastopol and their personal belongings are presented in the hall. There is also a painting by G. Shukaev "The Battle on the Malakhov Kurgan". The canvas depicts one of the heroes of the defense of Sevastopol, the legendary sailor Pyotr Koshka. At the parapet - organizers of defense V.I.Istomin and E.I. Totleben.

With the advent of rifled artillery, long-term fortification began to develop. The fortresses are girded with forts, placed in front of the fortresses in such a way that the enemy's artillery could not hit the fortress and the forts at the same time. The exposition of the hall contains a model of the Brest-Litovsk fortress as an example of the gradual development of fortress building from a citadel surrounded by bastion-type fortifications to forts located 3-4 km from the fortress fence.

Picturesque canvases "Fortress Novogeorgievsk", "Fortress Ivangorod", " Appearance citadels of the Brest-Litovsk fortress ”,“ Internal view of the citadel of the Brest-Litovsk fortress ”(artist M. Zaleskiy) show examples of Russian fortification art of the first half of the 19th century. There is also a portrait of the outstanding Russian engineer Lieutenant General II Den (1786-1859), who supervised the construction of these fortresses.

The Patriotic War of 1812, the revolutions in Europe in 1848-1849, the Crimean War showed the urgent need to strengthen the borders of the state. A cadre of well-trained military engineers was to lead this work. For this purpose, in 1855 the officers' classes of the Main Engineering School were transformed into the Military Engineering Academy. The right to enter it had officers who graduated from an engineering school after two years of service and passed entrance exams in the following subjects: mathematics, differential calculus, descriptive geometry, topography, field and long-term fortification, attack and defense of fortresses, mine art, graceful architecture, elementary construction art, artillery, tactics, physics, drawing, Russian and foreign languages... The term of study at the academy was two years.

The hall displays portraits of prominent figures who graduated from the Main (Nikolaev) Military Engineering School and the Nikolaev Engineering Academy. Among them are writers F.M.Dostoevsky and D.V. Grigorovich; physiologist M.I.Sechenov; composer, music critic Ts.A. Cui; historian F.F. Laskovsky; artist K.A. Trutovsky. The great chemist D.I. Mendeleev worked within the walls of the academy.

The new rules for admission to the academy, providing for the need for two years of military service before entering it, have significantly improved the composition of students. However, the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. again demanded specialists in military engineering. 42 students of the academy were sent to the army.

During the construction of minefields on the Danube in 1877, the work was supervised by the prominent Russian miner M.M. Boreskov (his portrait is on display). The hall displays mines that were planted on the Danube. The successful crossing of the river was facilitated by the adoption by the Russian army of a park with a metal pontoon designed by Tomilovsky. In 1864, it replaced the outdated pontoon park of Andrey Dumb. Models of Tomilovsky's pontoons are on display.

In the foreground are paintings by artist N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky "The crossing of the Russian army across the Danube near Zimnitsa on June 27, 1877" depicts the chief of the 14th division, Major General M.I.Dragomirov, on the Tomilovsky pontoon.

Showcases and cabinets contain personal belongings of General MD Skobelev - the famous "White General", miniature portraits of the Knights of St. George, a trench instrument from the period of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

The model "Shipka Positions" is of great interest. It shows the positions of the Russian troops defending the pass, which was the most important route from northern Bulgaria to southern Bulgaria. It was occupied on June 7, 1877 by the detachment of General F. F. Radetsky. On August 9, the Turks launched an offensive in this area. After losing about 15,000 people, the Turkish commander Suleiman Pasha stopped the attacks, but kept the Russian positions under constant fire. The use of electrically controlled landmines in the defense of the Shipka Pass made it possible to repel several attacks by Suleiman Pasha's troops without the use of artillery and rifle fire at all.

A. D. Kivshenko. Battle of Shipka-Sheinovo on December 28, 1877 1894

The sappers invented and trained the Russian troops in this war in the use of self-entrenching when securing positions, which sharply reduced the losses from the rifle fire of the Turks. From that moment, small infantry shovels were introduced in the Russian army, and sets of entrenching tools were included in the obligatory property of infantry companies. One platoon in an infantry company was to be trained to perform the basic tasks of combat engineering.

The amount of engineering work is clearly shown on the model "The Blockade of Plevna in 1877". On it - a section of terrain near Plevna with fortifications of Russian and Turkish troops. When trying to take Plevna by storm (July 8, 18 and August 26-31, 1877), Russian troops suffered heavy losses (30,000 people), which forced the command to go over to the blockade. New batteries were built, redoubts, lunettes, trenches, lodges and dugouts for soldiers were erected. The length of the positions reached more than 70 km with a depth of up to 2.5 km, on which 120 thousand Russian and Romanian soldiers were stationed with 510 guns. On November 28, 1877, the Turks made an attempt to break out of the blockade ring. Having lost more than 6,000 people, the Plevna garrison (50,000 people with 77 guns) capitulated. In inclined showcases there are blasting devices, entrenching tools, awards, photographic documents and other exhibits. Floating mines, which were used on the Danube, are presented between the models.

Russian-Japanese War 1904-1905 and especially the heroic defense of Port Arthur had a huge impact on the development of the engineering troops. The importance of field fortifications in the course of the war continuously increased, and the old types gradually died out - forts, redoubts, lunettes. They were replaced by continuous and separate trenches, trenches, and communication trenches.

An important innovation in military engineering was the advance preparation of rear positions deep into the territory. These positions significantly increased the stamina and activity of the defense. At this time, various land mines were first used. The skillful organization and management of engineering support during the defense of Port Arthur by Lieutenant General R.I. Kondratenko made it possible to repel four assaults, inflicting significant losses on the Japanese (100 thousand people killed). A bronze bust of R.I. Kondratenko is installed in the hall. There is also a relief map of Port Arthur, mine-explosives, an entrenching tool used by sappers, portraits of St. George's cavaliers.

Lieutenant A.I. Debogoriy-Mokrievich in the besieged Port Arthur headed the laboratory of engineering barriers created by him, in which 7 thousand were made. sapper bombs, 5800 flares and about 10000 tons of explosives. Head Captain M.L. Zedgenidze supervised the demolition work, he blew up 7 railway bridges.

She played an important role in further development Russian engineering troops and military engineering art The First World War 1914-1918. The belligerent armies, despite the great saturation of rifled store-bought weapons, machine guns and artillery, were not able to break through the enemy positions, echeloned to great depths and covered with barbed wire. On the podiums in the hall there are subversive means for overcoming the barbed wire. The exposition presents scissors of various designs for making passages in wire fences. There is a mock-up of an elongated mine charge of non-commissioned officer Semenov. The charge is intended for making passages in wire fences. A model of the engineering bridgehead of the 6th Army Corps of the Southwestern Front is presented.

The hall displays portraits of a military engineer, scientist Major General KI Velichko, author of 70 scientific papers on military engineering, a participant in the development of the project of the fortresses of Port Arthur and Vladivostok; military engineer, scientist, professor, Lieutenant General V.V. Yakovlev, author of works on engineering training; the commander of the detachment of miners of the fortress of Kronstadt, captain A.N. Nikitin, who in 1916. installed 400 submarine land mines on the Zapadnaya Dvina River.

Engineering units acted as an active revolutionary force during the October armed uprising. On the stands there are documents, exhibits, photographs and other materials telling about the participation of the engineering troops in the revolutionary events of 1917.

(combat) action.

Part engineering troops includes governing bodies, institutions, enterprises, engineers and sappers, road engineers, pontoon and other formations, military units and subunits.

In the Armed Forces of various states could be called (are called) Corps of Engineers, Royal Engineers, Military engineers, Engineering Corps, Military construction troops, Staff, Pioneer troops, Baltaji etc.

In the army Ancient Rome In - centuries to consolidate the conquered territories, defensive structures were erected along the state border, which were named Roman ramparts. Initially, the Roman ramparts were built by the troops themselves, later a significant part of the work was carried out by slaves.

In ancient Russia IW were called Pososhny army (Staff). Under Peter the Great, they were named Minesweepers when two companies were formed: engineering and mine. The Russian Armed Forces also included Horse-pioneers - engineering troops equestrian system.

Aircraft IoT by country

• Engineering troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
• Israeli Corps of Engineers ( english)
• Canadian Corps of Engineers ( english)
• Australian Corps of Engineers ( english)
• British Corps of Engineers ( english)
• German Engineering Troops ( english)

see also

• Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps

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Notes

Literature

• Nikiforov N.I. Assault brigades of the Red Army in battle. - Eksmo Yauza, 2008 .-- 416 p. - (Great Patriotic War: The Price of Victory). - ISBN 978-5-699-25628-0.
• on the Runivers website
• on the Runivers website

Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.

Excerpt from Engineering Troops

- Want to smell gunpowder? He said to Pierre. - Yes, a pleasant smell. I have the honor to adore your wife, is she healthy? My halt at your service. - And, as often happens with old people, Kutuzov began to look around absentmindedly, as if forgetting everything he needed to say or do.
Obviously, remembering what he was looking for, he beckoned Andrei Sergeyich Kaisarov, his adjutant's brother, to him.
- How, how, how is Marina's poetry, how is poetry, how? That on Gerakova he wrote: “You will be a teacher in the building ... Tell me, tell me,” Kutuzov began, obviously intending to laugh. Kaisarov read ... Kutuzov, smiling, nodded his head to the beat of the poetry.
When Pierre moved away from Kutuzov, Dolokhov, moving up to him, took his hand.
“I am very glad to meet you here, Count,” he said to him loudly and not embarrassed by the presence of strangers, with special decisiveness and solemnity. “On the eve of the day on which God knows which of us is destined to stay alive, I am glad to have the opportunity to tell you that I regret the misunderstandings that were between us, and I wish you had nothing against me. I ask you to forgive me.
Pierre, smiling, looked at Dolokhov, not knowing what to say to him. Dolokhov, with tears coming into his eyes, hugged and kissed Pierre.
Boris said something to his general, and Count Bennigsen turned to Pierre and offered to go with him along the line.
“It will interest you,” he said.
“Yes, very interesting,” said Pierre.
Half an hour later, Kutuzov left for Tatarinova, and Bennigsen and his retinue, including Pierre, drove along the line.

From Gorki, Bennigsen went down the high road to the bridge, which the officer from the mound pointed out to Pierre as the center of the position, and on the bank of which there were rows of mown grass that smelled of hay. They drove across the bridge to the village of Borodino, from there they turned left and past a huge number of troops and cannons they drove to a high mound, on which the militia were digging the ground. It was a redoubt that did not yet have a name, later called the Raevsky redoubt, or the kurgan battery.
Pierre did not pay much attention to this redoubt. He did not know that this place would be more memorable for him than all the places in the Borodino field. Then they drove through the ravine to Semyonovskoye, in which the soldiers were pulling the last logs of huts and barns. Then downhill and uphill, they drove forward through broken rye knocked out like hail, along the newly paved artillery road along the thrusts of arable land to the flesh [a kind of fortification. (Note. LN Tolstoy.)], Also then still digging.
Bennigsen stopped at flushes and began to look ahead at the (formerly ours yesterday) Shevardinsky redoubt, on which several horsemen could be seen. The officers said that Napoleon or Murat was there. And everyone looked eagerly at this bunch of horsemen. Pierre also looked there, trying to guess which of these barely visible people was Napoleon. Finally the horsemen left the mound and disappeared.
Bennigsen turned to the general who approached him and began to explain the entire situation of our troops. Pierre listened to Bennigsen's words, straining all his mental powers to understand the essence of the forthcoming battle, but with grief felt that his mental abilities were not sufficient for this. He didn't understand anything. Bennigsen stopped talking, and noticing the figure of Pierre listening, he suddenly said, addressing him:
- You, I think, are not interested?
“Oh, on the contrary, it's very interesting,” Pierre repeated, not entirely truthfully.
With the flush, they drove even further to the left along the road winding through a dense, low birch forest. In the middle of this
forest, a brown hare with white legs jumped into the road in front of them and, frightened by the stomp of a large number of horses, was so confused that it jumped along the road in front of them for a long time, arousing general attention and laughter, and only when they shouted at him in a few voices, he rushed to the side and disappeared into the thicket. Having traveled two versts through the forest, they drove into a clearing where troops of Tuchkov's corps were stationed, which was supposed to defend the left flank.
Here, on the extreme left flank, Bennigsen talked a lot and fervently and made, as it seemed to Pierre, an important military order. In front of the location of Tuchkov's troops was an elevation. This elevation was not occupied by troops. Bennigsen loudly criticized this mistake, saying that it was insane to leave the commander of the hill unoccupied and place troops under it. Some generals expressed the same opinion. One in particular spoke with military fervor that they had been put here for slaughter. Bennigsen ordered in his name to move the troops to the height.
This order on the left flank made Pierre even more doubtful about his ability to understand military affairs. Listening to Bennigsen and the generals condemning the position of the troops under the mountain, Pierre fully understood them and shared their opinion; but precisely because of this, he could not understand how the one who placed them here under the mountain could have made such an obvious and gross mistake.

Engineering troops - those who are responsible for the construction of defensive structures, bridges, pontoon crossings. It is these people who are engaged in the clearance of areas and the construction of structures for the hidden use of weapons. They do not remain unused in peacetime - their list of tasks includes the fight against the consequences of emergencies. These troops also have a professional holiday, which is celebrated on January 21. All those involved join the celebrations: sappers, divers, engineers and others.

history of the holiday

The holiday was established by the president Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin in 1996. The date of the event was tied to another good idea of \u200b\u200bTsar Peter the Great - he decided in the distant 1701 to establish in the capital "School of the Pushkarsky Prikaz", where engineers and artillerymen were trained. It was from its graduates that the first divisions of miners in the country consisted. After 11 years, Peter decided to separate the engineers from the artillerymen and pay more attention to their training, and in 1719 he ordered the creation of the St. Petersburg Engineering School.

The emperor considered the new troops valuable and tried in every possible way to increase their prestige. This will bear fruit - it is from the school established by Peter that Mikhail Kutuzov will graduate in half a century. Since then, these soldiers have taken part in all military operations in Russia. Their actions were highly appreciated during the Second World War, and more than once the fighters showed themselves brave after.

Engineering troops took an active part in the battles to defend the Motherland. Thanks to the knowledge, courage and bravery of combat engineers, it is possible to assert the fact of successful military operations in the framework of the Patriotic War of 1812, the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-1855, the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905. and both world wars. In 2006, the head of state added the date to the list of memorable days.

Engineering troops - special troops designed to perform the tasks of engineering support for combat operations, requiring special training of personnel and the use of engineering weapons, as well as for inflicting losses on the enemy by using engineering ammunition.

The main tasks are: engineering reconnaissance of the enemy, terrain and objects; construction of the most important fortifications when equipping defensive lines (strips) and positions; engineering equipment of districts, control points; installation of barriers and production of destruction; equipment and maintenance of crossings over water obstacles; preparation of routes for movement and maneuver of troops; arrangement and maintenance of passages in obstacles and destruction; demining of terrain and objects; implementation of camouflage activities; extraction, purification of water and equipment of water supply points for troops; participation in the elimination of the consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction by the enemy, the destruction of nuclear energy and chemical industries, etc.

In the armies of many states, engineering troops are also responsible for equipping airfields, naval and rear services, laying and maintaining field pipelines, performing topographic, cartographic, geodetic and other work. It is also allowed to use units (subunits) of engineering troops for conducting combat as infantry.

Engineering troops consist of formations, units and subunits for various purposes: engineer-sapper, assault, engineering-road, road-bridge-building, engineering-positional, pontoon-bridge (pontoon), transfer and landing (amphibious), engineering camouflage, engineering technical, field water supply, equipment of control points, engineering and technical support, engineering and aerodrome, marine engineering and others.

(Military encyclopedia. Military publishing. Moscow. In 8 volumes -2004)

The need for military engineering troops arose in antiquity - first to equip simple field fortifications, then fortresses and perform other engineering tasks. The date of creation of the engineering troops in Russia is considered to be January 21, 1701, when Peter I issued a decree on the opening in Moscow of the "School of the Pushkarsky Prikaz", in which artillery officers and military engineers were trained. Graduates of the School in 1702 began to recruit the first miner units of the regular Russian army.

In 1712, Peter I approved the first staffs of a mine company and a team of pontoons. The first engineering regiment was formed in 1797, consisting of 2 mine workers, 2 engineering companies and 2 artisan companies.

The soldiers of the engineering troops of Russia took part in all battles to defend the Fatherland: the Patriotic War of 1812, during the defense of Sevastopol (1854-1855), during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the First World War (1914-1918).

In the USSR, engineering troops were created during the organization of the Soviet Army. During the Great Patriotic War, they performed tasks of engineering support for combat operations.

During the Great Patriotic War, more than 100 thousand soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals of the Engineering Troops were awarded orders and medals. 655 - became Heroes of the Soviet Union, 294 - full holders of the Order of Glory. 201 engineering units and units were reorganized into guards.

The engineering troops played a significant role in supporting the combat operations of a limited contingent of troops on the territory of Afghanistan, in resolving armed conflicts in Tajikistan, Transnistria and in the North Caucasus region.

In peacetime, engineering troops perform a number of important national economic tasks: they clear the territory of mines and other explosive items, participate in the elimination of the consequences of the destruction of nuclear energy and chemical industries, natural disasters, guard bridges and hydraulic structures during ice drift, etc.

The engineering troops are responsible for the implementation of the most complex engineering support tasks requiring the use of equipment, ammunition and special training of personnel. The task of the engineering troops, due to the increased threat of world terrorism and associated with countering mine terror, is complex in nature, multipolar. It requires special equipment, targeted training of specialists. Today this task has found itself at the junction of the service activities of many power structures and is being solved by all in close cooperation.

The system of engineering weapons includes over 800 items of various models and sets. The implementation of the Armament Program approved by the President of Russia in terms of the development of engineering weapons will allow the Russian Armed Forces to be fully re-equipped with new models of the fourth and fifth generations by 2020.

The development of engineering weapons for the period up to 2025 envisages two stages. The first stage (until 2015) includes the improvement (modernization) of existing funds, the creation of fundamentally new ones, for which there is a scientific and technical reserve, and the creation of a reserve for funds based on advanced technologies. The second stage (2015-2025) is the creation of fundamentally new means to ensure the radical re-equipment of the engineering troops.

Taking into account the historical traditions of the engineering troops, their contribution to the development of the country's defense potential, by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 18, 1996, the Day of the Engineering Troops was established and its date was set - January 21. By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 31, 2006 "On the Establishment of Professional Holidays and Memorable Days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation", the Engineering Troops Day was referred to as memorable days of the Russian Federation.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

History of the engineering troops of the Russian Army

Brief outline

From the author. After reading this essay, the reader may get the impression that the author is trying to prove that the engineering troops are the most important branch of the troops, that the army owes all its victories only to the engineering troops.

This is not true. The author knows perfectly well that the infantry is the main branch of the troops, and all the rest only provide the infantryman with success, and that the engineering troops are not the main fiddle in this orchestra. However, the author protests against the suppression of the merits of the sappers and, with some exaggeration of colors, tries to draw the reader's attention to this ancient army, often undeservedly forgotten, to those soldiers who were called "workers of war." In addition, in describing battles and battles, the author deliberately isolates the actions of engineering units and subunits from the general picture of the war for the same purpose.

Part 1

This essay will consider the history of the engineering troops only Russian Army.

We will not dwell on engineering measures or, as it is now called, "combat engineering" of ancient times. This is the subject of a different topic.

The first written document, which describes in sufficient detail and directively not only the engineering measures to support the battle, but also the organization, tasks and duties of purely engineering units is the "Charter of military, cannon and other matters relating to military science." The author of the charter was the voivode boyar Onisim Mikhailov. This document was published at the beginning of the 17th century and was the main, but rather the only document regulating the combat activities and organization of the Russian army up to the publication of the military regulations of Peter I.

In Mikhailov's Charter, three types of engineering units were defined: trenchmen (sappers), gorokopi (miners) and pontooners; their place in the organizational structure - in the composition of the artillery; number - for a siege army of 60-80 thousand people to have four warrant officers of trenches (four detachments of sappers), warrant officer of gorokopov, warrant officer of pontooners. The total number of engineering units was determined by 1800 people (3% of the total number of the army).

Written documents from which the activity of the engineering troops in the Russian army were practically not preserved until the time of Peter I, but there is no doubt that they existed and were widely used. Indeed, even during the storming of Kazan in 1552, Russian miners, having made four undermines, blew up the walls of the Kremlin in several places, which predetermined the success of the storm.

During the creation of the Russian Army by Peter I, already during the first siege of Narva in 1700, the use of miners was mentioned. A number of historians point to the existence of a mine company in 1702. What is remarkable is that earlier than the first mentions of the engineering units themselves, there is a mention of the creation of an educational institution for the training of military engineers. In 1701 (January 10), Peter I issued a decree on the creation in Moscow of the "School of the Pushkarsky Prikaz", which trained artillery officers and military engineers.

It should be noted that in those days (as before) engineering was considered a part of artillery science, and engineering units for a long time were part of the staff of artillery units. This is not accidental, since firstly, it was the artillery that first of all needed roads, ferries, forts, and mine cover for positions; secondly, engineering, like artillery, required literate, educated people ("scientists").

The earliest document concerning the engineering troops found in the archives of Peter the Great is the list of ranks of the miner company in 1710.

In 1712, Peter I decided to streamline the structure of the Russian Army. It publishes the staff of the regiments (the staff is a document in which it signs how many and what units to have in the regiment, the number of each unit). According to the staff of the artillery regiment of February 8, 1712, in addition to purely artillery units, it had a mine company of 75 people, an engineering team of 35 people and a pontoon team of 36 people. It is noteworthy that engineering units accounted for 14% of the regiment's personnel.

In 1713, Peter I issued a number of decrees requiring non-commissioned and chief officers of the infantry and cavalry to study engineering, even to the point of threatening not to promote those who did not pass the engineering exam to the next ranks.

On January 16, 1712, Peter I ordered to separate the engineering school from the school of the Pushkarsk order and expand it. Then he created the St. Petersburg School of Engineering (in 1719), in 1723 he transferred the Moscow School to St. Petersburg and unites them. These schools trained non-commissioned and chief officers of the engineering troops. To increase the attractiveness of these schools and to emphasize the importance of the engineering troops, Peter I in his Table of Ranks in 1722 lists the officers of the engineering troops (as well as the artillerymen) one rank higher than the officers of the infantry and cavalry. It should be noted that the first educational institutions for the training of officers of infantry and cavalry will be created only in 1731.

Since 1724, the slow process of separating the engineering troops from the artillery begins. This was dictated by the fact that not only artillery, but the rest of the troops needed more and more engineering units.

This year, an engineering regiment and a separate mine company are being created. The company consisted of 89 people. The staff of the engineering regiment is remarkable. It contained only 236 officers and conductors (non-commissioned officers). The soldiers were not there. This regiment, in fact, was a reserve of engineering specialists. If necessary, a conductor or an officer was allocated from the regiment to perform a specific task, he was given the necessary number of soldiers, peasants, and local residents. Outside of the size of the regiment, each fortress in the state had one or more military engineers (conductor, chief or staff officer). Also, each province had its own military engineer. Since 1722, every infantry and cavalry regiment received such a military engineer.

By 1725, the engineering troops had 12 staff officers, 67 chief officers and 274 conductors. The central organ of the engineering troops was the Office of the Main Artillery and Fortification.

A characteristic phenomenon of the post-Petrine era (however, this phenomenon is also characteristic of our time) was the periodic sharp reduction of engineering troops, then their rapid build-up. The reduction took place in peacetime, the build-up during the war, and every time the Russian Army (and the Soviet one too!) In the initial periods of wars found itself in a difficult situation due to the lack of proper engineering support for the battle, and suffered unjustified losses.

In 1753, the engineer-general Ganibal Abram Petrovich (the famous "Arap of Peter the Great", great-grandfather of A.S. Pushkin) was appointed the head of the engineering school. In 1760, Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov graduated from this school as an engineering warrant officer, who was sent to serve in the Astrakhan regiment. The commander of this regiment was at that time Colonel A.V. Suvorov.

So, by the beginning of the Seven Years War with Prussia (1756-1763), the army had only a mine company of 120 people and a pontoon team of 30 people. But already in 1757, the mine company was deployed into an engineering regiment of six-staff personnel of 1,830 people, and the pontoon team into a pontoon unit of 300 people.

At the same time, the engineering troops, in addition to the trench (shovels, picks, saws, axes, crowbars, pawns), measuring and simple lifting tools, received a canvas pontoon park (a set of elements for the construction of a floating bridge) designed by Captain Andrey Dumb. This park has been in service with the Russian Army for more than 150 years and only 103 years after its invention they armed their engineering units of the European army (of course, this was presented as an advanced European technology).

After the end of the Seven Years War, the engineering troops were again forgotten, their numbers were greatly reduced, and only one of the most literate people in military affairs at the end of the 18th century, Emperor Paul I, considered engineering troops an integral part of the modern army. In 1797, he formed a pioneer regiment of three battalions (each battalion consisted of three pioneer (advanced sapper) companies and one mine company).

A striking example of the correct and successful use of engineering troops is the storming of Izmail in 1790. Suvorov ordered to organize a thorough engineering reconnaissance of the fortress; ordered the sappers to erect similar fortifications near the fortress, on which he trained troops in the assault. To fill the ditches in front of the fortress wall, sappers prepared a large number of fascines (bundles of brushwood tied with ropes), assault ladders, erected field fortifications for siege weapons, and covered the paths of possible attacks of the Turks with slingshots and wolf pits. For several weeks, sappers illuminated the fortress with flares every night, simulating the beginning of an assault in order to exhaust the garrison. Pioneer units were included in the assault columns with the task of making passages in the barriers of the Turks, undermining walls. They completed their tasks successfully and largely ensured the success of the assault.

The son of Paul I, Emperor Alexander I, who received a good military education through the efforts of his father, continued his father's work of ordering the army. He created a ministry of war, in which, among other departments, artillery and engineering expeditions existed as independent departments. Each of the expeditions was responsible for its own type of troops, its training, recruiting, weapons. So by 1802, there was an almost complete separation of the engineering troops from the artillery. Only pontoon units remained in the artillery department. However, until 1918, the engineering troops wore uniforms the same as the artillery, differing from the artillerymen only in the silver color of the metal equipment of the uniform (against the gold one for the artillery) and emblems (crossed axes instead of crossed guns).

Alexander I, remembering the instructions of his father and continuing his work to improve the army, along with other measures, by 1803, deployed engineering troops to two pioneer regiments.

In total, by the beginning of the war in 1812, the Russian army had 10 pioneer and miner companies, several pontoon companies in the field troops. There were also 14 pioneer and miner companies in the fortresses. Let me remind the reader that there were no soldiers in these companies, but only specialists, officers and conductors. The labor force for engineering work was recruited from among local residents, infantry soldiers.

Already in the process of the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the border, the engineering troops largely contributed to the success of this maneuver. They built 178 bridges alone, and repaired roads for 1920 versts. They, retreating last, burned bridges on the way of the French, blew up landmines on the roads, destroyed roads, etc.

A military engineer by training, Field Marshal Kutuzov had an excellent idea of \u200b\u200bthe role that engineering units could play in battles. Having assumed the command of the Russian army, Kutuzov unites all pioneer companies in two military brigades under the single command of General Ivashov. Infantry companies are included in these brigades as permanent operations. These brigades played an important role in increasing the stability of the defense of the Russian army on the Borodino field, having built a whole system of field fortifications. The main battles flared up for the capture of the Shevardinsky redoubt, the Rayevsky battery, the Bagrationov flushes. The attacks of Napoleon's infantry broke up against these fortifications throughout the day of the Battle of Borodino.

Preparing a counteroffensive, Kutuzov, in order to increase the mobility of the troops, ordered Ivashov to create a mounted engineering detachment of 600 people, whose tasks were: conducting engineering reconnaissance ahead of the advancing troops, correcting roads, restoring bridges, finding fords in front of the troops, preventing the French from destroying bridges.

Alexander I, delighted with the efficiency of the engineering units, in December 1812 ordered the creation of the Life Guards Sapper Battalion.

By the beginning of the overseas campaign, the engineering troops were deployed into two pioneer and one sapper regiments. Thus, the number of engineering companies was increased to 40.

The war showed a clearly insufficient number of engineering officers and the growing role of engineering troops. Disagreement in the system of training military engineers ended in 1819 by the transfer of all engineering schools to the Main Engineering School. This school is located in the castle of Emperor Paul I, which from that time to the present day receives the name of the Engineering Castle. The school will become the main educational institution of the engineering troops for many decades and will stay in this castle until 1962.

The school became at the same time an educational institution of two levels of training. In the conductor department of the schools, young people were trained for the officer rank for three years. The officers' department gave higher education officers, i.e. was the forerunner of the Engineering Academy.

Alexander I, continuing to streamline the army, creating its slender structure, came to the conclusion that the engineering regiments were cumbersome, which, in a combat situation, were still torn apart to perform tasks. He introduced the battalion structure of the engineer troops in 1819. Engineering battalions were created according to the number of army corps (one battalion per corps). And in order to keep the battalions (which, in general, the infantry commanders did not care about) in peacetime, he brought them into three engineering brigades. In 1822, Alexander transferred the pontoon units from the artillery to the engineering department.

By the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander I, the number of engineering troops exceeded 21 thousand people (2.3% of the total number of troops).

Both pioneer and sapper companies solved the same tasks, although it was assumed that the pioneer companies operate in the combat formations of the troops, and the sapper companies in the back. To eliminate inconsistencies in the name and reduce the number of staffing tables, Emperor Nicholas I ordered in 1844 to name all engineering units as "sappers". For cavalry units, these units were called "horse-pioneer divisions".

By the beginning of the Crimean War of 1853-56, the Russian army had 9 sapper battalions, one training battalion, two reserve battalions and two cavalry pioneer battalions. The main event of the Crimean War was the defense of Sevastopol.

In peacetime, a serious mistake was made in the creation of Sevastopol as a fortress. The fortress structures did not provide for the assault on the fortress from land. However, the same mistake was made in Soviet times. The defensive structures of Sevastopol were hastily erected with the beginning of the war by field engineering units. They were led by a talented military engineer, General Totleben. The system of fortifications created by him turned out to be so perfect that the attacking columns of the British and French broke about it for almost a year.

It is noteworthy that when the Germans occupied Sevastopol in 1942, they took the Totleben monument under protection. It turned out that the Germans carefully studied his system of fortifications in their academies and cited it as proof of the genius of the German mind and the superiority of the German nation, the talent of German sappers (Totleben was German by origin, but was born and raised in Russia, graduated from the St. Petersburg Engineering School).

When the attacks of the Russian fortifications were unsuccessful, the British and French decided to conduct an underground mine war. They began to dig under the Russian fortifications. However, the Russian sappers were at their best here too. They successfully led the counter-mine galleries, dug them faster and, using the electric method of detonation, thwarted the enemy's attempts to destroy our fortifications. Suffice it to say that if the enemy laid a total of 1,280 meters of underground galleries, then Russian sappers had 6,889 meters.

In the second half of the 19th century, the engineering troops, born in the bowels of artillery, themselves become the parent of new types of troops. The development of science and technology in the 19th century led to the emergence of railways, electric telegraph, telephone. Naturally, the armies immediately appreciated these inventions and began to use them for military purposes. The development of new technical means in the Russian army was entrusted to the engineering troops. After all, the most educated, technically savvy officers were concentrated in the engineering troops, and literate soldiers too (even in the first half of the 18th century it was forbidden to send illiterate recruits to engineering units). I do not want to belittle the education of the artillerymen, which was in no way inferior to the education and literacy of the sappers, but since the artillerymen were the main fire force of the Russian army, then entrust them with the tasks of mastering new technology it was inappropriate.

In 1870, railway units appeared as part of the engineering troops, and from 1876, railway battalions. At the same time, 9 military field telegraph parks were formed. Each of them had 35 kilometers of conventional cable and 1 kilometer of underwater cable. A technical galvanic school is being set up to train soldiers as specialists in electrical engineering. Its authority becomes so great that the non-commissioned officers of this school are invited to give lectures on electricity at universities.

By the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78, the Russian army had a sapper battalion for each corps (three sapper companies and one telegraph company). In the course of this war, the sappers most had to deal with mountain roads, erect a large number of bridges; to provide telegraph communication, which was quickly appreciated by the command of the Russian army, since the efficiency of communications created a clear advantage for our troops.

The use of electrically controlled landmines to repel the attacks of the Turks during the defense of the Shipka Pass made it possible to repel several attacks by Suleiman Pasha's troops without the use of artillery and rifle fire at all. Sappers, on the other hand, invented and trained the Russian troops in this war in the use of self-entrenching when securing positions, which sharply reduced losses from rifle fire of the Turks. From that moment on, small infantry shovels were introduced in the Russian army, sets of entrenching tools were introduced into the obligatory property of infantry companies, and one platoon in an infantry company was to be trained in performing the basic tasks of engineering support for the battle. When, before the start of the First World War, the Russian military attaché in France, Count Ignatiev, showed these shovels and sets of trench tools to the French, it was a revelation for them (as well as field kitchens). So much for the advanced European army. However, the French preferred to lose thousands of their soldiers from the gunfire of the Germans sitting in trenches dug with their shovels and lose thousands of soldiers from hunger and stomach diseases, before adopting the inventions of "barbaric" Russia.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian army had 30 battalions, 27 parks and 7 separate companies united in 7 sapper brigades. The sapper brigade consisted of 2-3 sapper battalions, 1-2 pontoon battalions, 2-3 telegraph parks, 1 engineering park. The park differs from the battalion in that it is a kind of mobile warehouse of engineering property from which engineering units are created, if necessary. By this time, the pontoons had already abandoned the Silent canvas park, which was considered the best in Europe (however, the Europeans considered this park to be their invention) and received the Tomilovsky metal pontoon park (this park was in service with the German army in 1939-45). By this time, the sappers had been armed with mobile power plants and balloons. The formation of aeronautical detachments in the sapper brigades began.

The Engineering School produced highly educated military engineers who worked not only in the military field. Suffice it to say that the genius of structural mechanics, G.E. Pauker, the outstanding railway engineer A.I. Kvist, the inventor of the electric light bulb Yablochkov, the great Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov, writers F.M. Dostoevsky, emerged from the walls of the school at different times. D.V. Grigorovich, composer Cui. In 1855, from the school, the officer's department was allocated to the first in Russia military academy - Engineering Academy. It was within its walls that the great chemist D.I. Mendeleev worked.