At the same time, the Military Collegiate believed that since Schoner’s main specialty was carpentry, which is generally well known to Russian people, then with the replacement of Schoner’s battalion as craftsmen in army companies, the regiments would not feel a lack of ranks required for repairing roads and bridges along the army’s path.
Empress Catherine II Highly approved on October 34, 1775, the report of the Military Collegium on the destruction of the General Schüner battalion, and ordered, in its place, to maintain, in its place, one person in the mouths of all infantry regiments and battalions?).
Of course, not only now, but even, I think, then there were people who could judge how logical and correct the view of the Military Collefi was. I believe that at that time they realized that it was not at all the reasons that were given in the report of the Military Collegium that served as the basis for the destruction of the General Staff battalion. The Sponers, who were left behind the disbanded battalion, were ordered to be transferred to the Engineering Department to fill the available vacancies. The Field Engineering Troops remained in such a deplorable state until Emperor Paul ascended the throne | (1796). |
1) P.S. Zak. Ross. Im., vol. XX, No. 14384. 2) Ibid.
Before we move on to consider the transformations made by Emperor Paul | Regarding the Engineering part, I consider it necessary to say a few words about the management systems of the Engineering Department, starting from February 12, 1762 (i.e., from the time of the appointment of General Feldzeichmeister instead of Count Shuvalov, General Vilboa), about those figures who stood, during the continued reign of Catherine II, at the head of the Engineering Corps!), about the influence they enjoyed and their activities in relation to the Field Engineering Troops.
1762-1796. This period dates back to the reign of Catherine I, and, unfortunately, constitutes the palest pages in the history of the Field Engineering Troops. The only thing that was done during this time that was useful for the Engineering Department was to pay more attention to the theoretical and practical education of the Engineering Troops. Engineering schools were established in major cities (in St. Petersburg, Kev, Riga, Kronstadt, Revel, Vyborg, Narva, Shlisselburg, Pernov, Astrakhan, and others). To train knowledgeable miners, a “theoretical and practical school” was founded in St. Petersburg, under the mining team. In this school, non-commissioned officers were taught ariemetics, geometry, trigonometry, fortifications and all parts of mine science; and in the summer, in the camp, the Field Engineering Troops were taught: “Mine, mine and frass practices, the construction of mine frames, trenches, sausages, halls, chambers, loading and jamming mines and flasov, rolling, according to different properties of the earth, tearing stones; Experiments were carried out to determine the strength of the cone containing different heights of the cone (that is, they determined the size of the funnel depending on the amount of gunpowder). table, journal, etc.” )
A space was allocated for the above-mentioned practical activities. according to the decree of July 4, 1764, on the Vyborg side, 7 versts from St. Petersburg, to the right of the road. Fortress training grounds and retrenchments were built there.
With the succession of General Vilboa, General-Fieldmaster" and General Director of fortifications Grigori Grigorievich Orlov, the system of management of the Engineering Department did not change. The internal administrative order remained the same.
Here, by the way, it is impossible not to mention the order for the troops of the Kuban Corps (May 16, 1778) 2), Lieutenant General Suvorov, where he instructed the troops how they should build Ukrainian prisons and defend themselves in them: |
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
1) East. Very good Eng. Ex. in Rossiy, 1879, A. Savelyeva. 2) East. Very good Eng. Ex. in Russia, 1879, A. Savelyova.