#Napoleon #napoleonicwars An unknown hero of Germany, forgotten hero of Hessen: Alexander Iwanowitsch Tschernyschow (Александр Иванович Чернышёв) was born on 30th. December 1785. As a lieutenant in the russian armay he served at Austerlitz 1805, Heilsberg and Friedland 1806/07.

1808 he was negotiator between Zar Alexander and Napoleon. It was his communication, that Bernadotte and Sweden stayed neutral, when Bonaparte invaded Russia 1812. T. himself was not a Kosack, but commanded Kosacks. Although he was near to the high command, he soon skirmished

the French, ambushed and hunted them behind enemy lines. It was him who freed the russian general Ferdinand von Wintzingenrode out of French hands. In the time from December to January 1812/13 he crossed the prussian border with 2 000 riders. In February he took hostage of

french officers in Berlin. September 1813 he stood with his riders before Kassel and frightened Jerome Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and king of Westphalia, to death, that he left Kassel in a wild escape.

For the inhabitants of the area around the citiy of Fulda and the valley of the Kinzig he became an unknown und not rewarded hero after Leipzig. The retreating French who were partly disciplined before, now became marauding monsters. On their way back from Leipzig they pillaged

every house they could get. (I described that in my thread about the battle of Hanau on the 30th and 31st of October.) Together with austrian and prussian cavalry units, they hunted down every frenchman, who was far of his units to pillage.

. They hunted the retreating napoleonic soldiers out of the woods, where the villagers had hidden their daughters. Tschernyschow’s untis were very disciplined in the towns. At the battle of Hanau Tschnyschow’s cavalry took a seperated position on the outer northern wing.

In the austro/bavarian retreat, after Bonaparts absolute clever gambling, even the Kosacks were surprised and couldn’t enter the main battle. In the retreat T. charged the forward pushing french units with a relief attack and rescued a lot of austro/bavarian infantry.

The number of german civlians, who were rescued by Tschernyschow’s riders can’t estimated high enough.
T. went on with his warfare in 1814 an commanded light cavalry units. After the napoleonic war he climbed up the stairs of ranks and had a doubtful career, and even

became minister of war. His role in the time of the crimean war was hallmarked by mismanagement. He died 1857.