Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly

Field Marshal His Serene Highness Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Portrait by George Dawe
Other name(s)	Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly[1]
Born	December 1761 Pomautsch [lt], Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Pamūšis, Šiauliai County, Lithuania)
Died	24 September [O.S. 12 September] 1818 (aged 56) Insterburg, Kingdom of Prussia (present-day Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia)
Buried	Beckhof (present-day Jõgeveste, Valga County, 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 (1787–1792) Siege of Ochakov Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) Kościuszko Uprising Capture of Vilnius[2] Battle of Praga Finnish War Napoleonic Wars Battle of Pułtusk Battle of Eylau Battle of Vitebsk Battle of Smolensk Battle of Valutino 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	See § Awards and decorations

Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly^{[nb 1]} (baptised 27 December [O.S. 16 December] 1761 – 26 May [O.S. 14 May] 1818) was a Russian Field Marshal who figured prominently in the Napoleonic Wars.

Barclay was born into a Baltic German family from Livland. 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. He served with distinction in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92), the Russo-Swedish War (1788–90), and the Kościuszko Uprising (1794).

In 1806, Barclay began commanding in the Napoleonic Wars, distinguishing himself at the Battle of Pułtusk that same year. He was wounded at the Battle of Eylau in 1807 while his troops were covering the retreat of the Russian army. Because of his wounds, he was forced to leave command. The following year, he carried out successful operations in the Finnish War against Sweden. Barclay led a large number of Russian troops approximately 100 km across the frozen Gulf of Bothnia in winter during a snowstorm. For his accomplishments, Barclay de Tolly was appointed Governor-General of the Grand Duchy of Finland. From 20 January 1810 to September 1812 he was the Minister of War of the Russian Empire.

When the French invasion of Russia began in 1812, Barclay de Tolly was commander of the 1st Army of the West, the largest Army to face Napoleon. Barclay initiated a scorched earth policy from the beginning of the campaign, though this made him unpopular among Russians. After the Battle of Smolensk failed to halt the French and discontent among Russians continued to grow, Alexander I appointed Mikhail Kutuzov as Commander-in-Chief, though Barclay remained in charge of the 1st Army. However, Kutuzov continued the same scorched earth retreat up to Moscow where the Battle of Borodino took place nearby. Barclay commanded the right wing and center of the Russian army for the battle. After Napoleon's retreat, the eventual success of Barclay's tactics made him a hero among Russians. He became Commander-in-Chief in 1813 after the battle of Bautzen, replacing Wittgenstein (who had been appointed after Kutuzov's death early in 1813) and led the taking of Paris, for which he was made a Field Marshal. His health later declined and he died on a visit to Germany in 1818.

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