The Theory of Military Art and the Campaign of 1855 in the Caucasus: General of Infantry N.N. Muravyov as an Adherent of Jomini

The article discusses the conduct of the 1855 campaign in the Caucasian theater of operations of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. General of infantry N.N. Muravyov, who occupied the positions of the commander of the Separate Corps of the Caucasus and the viceroy of the Caucasus, commanded the Russian forces in the course of the campaign. The article aims to establish the influence that the military theory of Antoine-Henry Jomini exerted over General Muravyov in the matters of operational art. A coherent analysis of the 1855 campaign allows identifying several characteristic features of Muravyov's leadership style and reconstruct his views on military art. The article scrutinizes such episodes of the campaign as the outbreak of the campaign both for the main forces and the Erivan detachment, Surp-Hovhannes standoff on June 20-24, Yenikoy operation on June 29 - July 6, Koprukoy operation on July 30 -August 11, E.A. Brimmer's foraging on August 7, the council of war on the eve of the assault of Kars on September 29, and the Ingur battle on November 6. The article also analyzes Muravyov's interaction with his subordinate officers, including A.A. Suslov, Ya.P. Baklanov, I.K. Bagration-Mukhransky, E.I. Maydel, and P.P. Kovalevsky. The analysis allows establishing the following characteristic features of General Muravyov's leadership style: (1) a clear identification of the decisive point associated with the main forces of the enemy; (2) an utmost concentration of forces against this point under the personal leadership of the commander; (3) a dismissive attitude toward separate detachments not included in the main forces; such detachments only play a passive role; (4) an utmost concentration of control in the hands of the commander: even in the case of separate detachments, Muravyov tries to exert direct command by issuing extensive orders; (5) a dismissive attitude toward subordinate officers, indisposition to listen to their considerations and an inclination not to inform them on the commander's intentions The comparison of these features with the teachings of Jomini allows establishing that Muravyov's actions coincide precisely with the principles laid out by the famous military theorist. General Muravyov acts in accordance with Jomini's principles when it comes to the concentration of forces and centralization of command, a clear identification of the decisive point, a limited use of separate detachments, and individual rather than collective operational work. This allows concluding that Jomini exerted a considerable influence on the military thinking of Russian generals of the Crimean War, determining their views on the art of war to a great degree.

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