2-548-532 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

'Portrait of Field Marshal Count Mikhail Barklay-de-Tolli', 1829. Born in Lithuania of Scottish descent, Michael Barclay de Tolly (1761-1818) was Russian Minister of War when Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. He assumed command of the 1st Army of the West and was responsible for executing the scorched earth policy denying supplies to the advancing French armies. He commanded the Russian right flank at the Battle of Borodino. Barclay de Tolly commanded the Russian Army in the German campaign of 1813 and in the invasion of France the following year. He was made a Field Marshal after commanding the capture of Paris which ended the War of the Sixth Coalition and led to the first exile of Napoleon. Found in the collection of the State Hermitage, St Petersburg.