The Russian field marshal Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov (1745-1813) commanded the forces that compelled Napoleon to retreat from Russia.

From his birth on Sept. 5, 1745, in St. Petersburg, Mikhail Kutuzov, the son of a general, was understood to be destined for a military career. He entered military school when he was 12 and proved to be a brilliant student in both military and civilian subjects. He was commissioned a sublieutenant at the age of 16.

The first 3 decades of Kutuzov's career were years of steady progress. He saw active duty first in Poland, where he served on several occasions between 1764 and 1769, earning recognition as a courageous soldier and an able leader. His next assignment, in 1770, took him south to join the fighting that had broken out in the preceding year against the Turks. After 4 years of participation in that conflict, during which he received a severe head wound that cost him an...