Barclay de Tolli

General Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Portrait of Barclay de Tolly from the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, by George Dawe
Born	(1761-12-27)27 December 1761 Pamūšis, Courland and Semigallia
Died	24 September [O.S. 12 September] 1818 Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk), Prussia
Buried	Jõgeveste, Estonia
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Service/branch	Imperial Russian Army
Years of service	1776–1818
Rank	Field Marshal
Commands held	Governor-General of Finland Minister of War
Battles/wars	Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) Siege of Ochakov Russo-Swedish War (1788–90) Kościuszko Uprising Battle of Praga Finnish War Napoleonic Wars Battle of Pułtusk Battle of Eylau Battle of Smolensk Battle of Borodino Battle of Bautzen Battle of Dresden Battle of Kulm Battle of Leipzig Battle of La Rothière Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube Battle of Fère-Champenoise Battle of Paris
Awards	Order of St. George

Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (27 December [O.S. 16 December] 1761 – 26 May [O.S. 14 May] 1818) was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition. Barclay implemented a number of reforms during this time that improved supply system in the army, doubled the number of army troops, and implemented new combat training principles. He was also the Governor-General of Finland.

He was born into a German-speaking noble family from Livonia who were members of the Scottish Clan Barclay. His father was the first of his family to be accepted into the Russian nobility. Barclay joined the Imperial Russian Army at a young age in 1776, enlisting in the Pskov Carabineer Regiment. For his role in the capture of Ochakov in 1788 from the Ottomans, he was personally decorated by Grigory Potemkin. Afterwards he participated in Catherine II's Swedish War. In 1794, he took part in putting down the Kościuszko Uprising in Poland and was again decorated for role in the capture of Vilnius.

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