Combat activity from 1702 to 1762 In conclusion of the period I am considering, it is necessary to turn to the combat activity of the engineering troops.
From the many surviving documents and, finally, from the histories of various wars, one can be convinced that field engineering was very widely used in the theater of military operations! from the very first days of the founding of the field engineering troops. This circumstance gives reason to conclude that the engineering troops took an active part in all military operations.
Unfortunately, before 1756, no detailed descriptions were preserved anywhere of what exactly the functions of the field engineering troops were and how well they satisfied their purpose in wartime. How can we explain this? I believe that the main reason is their small number: there were so few of them that they could not take part in military operations, as part of any other tactical unit.
They were probably assigned to the work and were only the supervisors of the work. And since the engineering department, judging by the instructions of Count Shuvalov, did not care at all about compiling and describing the activities of the engineering troops during the campaigns waged before 1756, it will be very clear why the surviving descriptions and journals do not mention the activities of the miners and engineers, since these descriptions were compiled by people completely alien to the interests of the engineering corps.
Count Shuvalov, soon after his appointment as Feldzeichmeister General, demanded that he be presented with a detailed description of the participation of the engineering troops in the Turkish, Persian and Swedish campaigns. General Hannibal reported on November 29, 1756 that “nothing has been discovered.” At the same time, he presented several plans and maps, on which only some of the actions of the engineering troops were very carelessly outlined. As a result, Count Shuvalov sent on January 17, 1757 to the office of the main artillery and fortification instructions, which obliged the “Engineering General” to monitor the matter so that in the future there would be no such omissions, so that during military operations the most detailed “military action logs”, maps and plans of all work would be compiled. In addition, if military operations took place in the steppe areas, then the engineering troops were entrusted with drawing up the most detailed notes, whether there were sufficient quantities of water, grass, firewood, etc., and whether they were suitable for use. If there was a lack of this, then in what size, what kind of measures were accepted, and how successful was it? (See Attachment XY).
It is very clear that the small number of engineering troops before 1757 could not but affect the technical element of field engineering during military operations. Due to the lack of engineering troops, during sieges and defenses of fortresses it was necessary to use soldiers from infantry regiments, far from being in proportion to the engineering troops, which is considered necessary for the successful execution of work.
This important drawback was eliminated in 1757 by the establishment of the Engineer Regiment. However, this could not have a particularly useful effect on the improvement of the technical part of the field engineering division, since the Engineering Regiment did not exist for very long. In 1703 it would be disbanded and replaced by two companies. |
The engineering regiment first took part in the campaign of 1760. At the beginning of the war, in 1760, the engineering regiment was only on a campaign and did not take part in military actions. His first experience in the field of siege warfare was the siege of Kolberg, carried out in 1761, under the command of Rumyantsev. (What exactly the activities of the Engineering Regiment consisted of can be seen from the appendices ХУГИ ХУИ.
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The state of the field Engineering troops during the reign of Empress Catherine II (1762-1796).
General Vilboa. Newly approved staff: Corps of Engineers,
Minerna and Schöner mouth. Schoner battle! it. Destroyed!e Shonervous battalion. Theoretical and practical school. Instructed!e
General Suvorov. Formed brigades of miners, sappers and Shounevenness at arm!i. Prince Orlov. Baron Meller-Zakomelsky. Prince Potemkin Tauride.
1762 The ambassador of Count Shuvalov, on February 12, 1762, General Alexander Nikitich Vilboa was appointed general-feldtzeichmeister.
Since the time of General Villeboa, the previous order of internal management of the Engineering Department has been resumed: the Office of the Main Artillery and Fortifications has become so independent that it no longer communicates in everything with its main Chief and very often decides for itself at its own discretion.