War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [829]
Nostitz-Rieneck, Count Jan Nepomuk (1768–1840): Descendant of a noble Prague family; major general in the Austrian army. Tricked by Murat, he abandoned his advance post at Schöngraben in 1805, for which he was accused of high treason. Joined the Russian army in 1807.
Novosiltsev, Nikolai Nikolaievich (1761–1836): (Tolstoy first calls him Novosiltsov and, in French, Novosilzoff.) One of four members of a privy committee of advisers to the young emperor Alexander I, along with Czartoryski, Stroganov, and Kochubey, who urged him to make liberal reforms. He carried out several diplomatic missions in 1805–1806, was president of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences from 1803 to 1810 and a member and then chairman of the State Council.
Ochakov: A fortress at the mouth of the Dnieper in the Ukraine. It was besieged for six months by the Russians in 1788, during the second Russo-Turkish war (1787–92), and finally taken by storm with great loss of life.
Oldenburg, Peter Friedrich Ludwig, Duke of (1755–1829): Lived in Russia and was married to Princess Elizabeth of Württemberg, sister of the Russian empress Maria Feodorovna. Fought in the second Russo-Turkish war and later served in government administration. In 1809 his son, Peter Friedrich Georg (1784–1812), was hastily married to Ekaterina Pavlovna (1788–1818), sister of Alexander I, to forestall Napoleon’s courtship of her. In 1811, Napoleon seized the Oldenburg lands, but they were returned to the family after the battle of Leipzig in 1813.
Ordener, Michel (1755–1811): Entered the French army before the revolution, later served in the Army of the Rhine and fought in the Italian campaign. Was sent to Germany to arrest the duke of Enghien. Took part in the Austrian campaign, fought at Austerlitz, and was promoted to major general. Retired in October 1806.
Orlov-Chesmensky, Count Alexei Grigorievich (1735–1807): A favorite of Catherine the Great, younger brother of her lover Grigori Grigorievich (1734–1783). The brothers took part in the murder of Catherine’s husband, the emperor Peter III, and Alexei Grigorievich was rumored to have struck the blow himself. He was famous for his lavish entertainment.
Orlov-Denisov, Count Vassily Vassilievich (1775–1845): Son of a Don Cossack, cavalry general, commanded a squadron of the imperial life guard in the Austrian campaign. In 1812 he commanded a Cossack regiment of the life guard in Barclay de Tolly’s western army and was the first to encounter Napoleon’s troops at the Niemen. Fought at Vitebsk, Smolensk, Borodino, and earned high praise from Bennigsen for his action at Tarutino. Later joined Davydov, Seslavin, and Figner in the partisan war.
Ostermann-Tolstoy, Count Alexander Ivanovich (1770–1857): Russian general, fought in the Austrian campaigns of 1805–1809, served as governor of Petersburg. Took part in the 1812 campaign as commander of the fourth corps of the western army. Fought at Borodino and in the European campaigns of 1813–14, where he lost an arm at the battle of Kulm.
Oudinot, Nicolas Charles (1767–1847): Served in the French republican Army of the Meuse and the Army of the North, and under Masséna in the Swiss campaign of 1799. Fought in the Austrian campaign, and in 1808 was made governor of Erfurt and count of the empire. After Wagram (1809) he became a marshal of the empire and duke of Reggio. Commanded the second corps in the Russian campaign. Rallied to the Bourbons after Napoleon’s abdication in 1814.
Pahlen, Count Pyotr Alexeevich von (1745–1826): Of Baltic nobility; served in the Russo-Turkish wars, distinguished himself at the siege of Ochakov. Relieved of his duties by Paul I in 1792, but later called back, he became one of the emperor’s favorites and served from 1798 to 1801 as governor of Petersburg. His part in the