Suvorov, Aleksandr, Count

Suvorov, Aleksandr (Vasilyevich), Count

(born Nov. 24, 1729, Moscow, Russia—died May 18, 1800, St. Petersburg) Russian army commander. Joining the army at age 15, he became an officer in 1754 and served in the Seven Years' War. He wrote a battle-training manual that helped Russia win the Russo-Polish conflict (1768–72) and a conflict with the Turks in 1773–74. He led the army in the Russo-Turkish War and was created a count. After crushing a revolt in Poland in 1794, he was promoted to field marshal. He commanded a Russo-Austrian force in Italy in 1799 and captured Milan, expelling most of the French army from Italy. Ordered to relieve a Russian force in Switzerland, he marched across the Alps; surrounded by a larger French force, he succeeded in breaking out and, repulsing the pursuing French, escaped with most of his army, a remarkable feat.