Grigoriy Orlyk French military leader, lieutenant general. Date of Birth: 05.11.1702 Country: Ukraine

Biography of Grigori Orlik

Grigori Orlik was a French military figure and lieutenant general. He was born into a noble Czech family and was the son of Hetman Philip Orlik, a close associate of Ukrainian Hetman Ivan Mazepa. He was also the godson of Hetman Ivan Mazepa.

After the defeat of the Swedish army in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Orlik and his parents went into exile. His father was proclaimed Hetman of Ukraine by Mazepa's supporters who were in Bender, a territory under Turkish rule and supportive of the Swedish King Charles XII. From 1709 to 1713, Orlik lived in Bender and then moved with his family to Sweden after the peace treaty between Russia and Turkey, which resulted in the expulsion of Swedish King Charles XII and the Ukrainian "Mazepintsy" from Turkish territory.

In Sweden, Orlik was enrolled in the guards of King Charles XII as a flag-bearer (ensign). From 1716 to 1718, he studied at Lund University, where he learned Latin, philosophy, military science, and studied the works of Cicero, Julius Caesar, and Plutarch. He was also skilled in fencing, drawing, and playing musical instruments.

In 1720, Orlik left for Hamburg with his father. In 1721, he served in the Saxon Guard as Lazisk. However, in 1726, he was forced to leave Saxony at the request of Russia and moved to Austria and then to Poland, where he became an adjutant to the Crown Hetman.

In 1729, Orlik met with the French ambassador in Poland, Antoine-Felix Marquis de Monti, who was one of the most active supporters of the pro-French King Stanislaw Leszczynski, living in exile in France. De Monti believed that Orlik could bring Stanislaw Leszczynski and money to Poland after the expected death of Polish King Augustus II, in order to bribe the electors for the election of a new king. Under the name of Captain Bartel, a Swedish guardsman, Orlik was sent by de Monti to Paris. There, he met with Stanislaw Leszczynski and prominent French statesmen, including Prime Minister Cardinal Fleury.

In 1730, Orlik was appointed as a diplomat by the French government and sent to Istanbul under the guise of a Swiss Guards captain to assist in the creation of an anti-Russian coalition. During this time, he secretly met with his father, who was under the supervision of the Turkish authorities in Thessaloniki. In 1731, he traveled to France, where he urged the authorities to initiate an attack by the Crimean Khan on Russian territory and offered himself as the French representative for negotiations with the Khan. He believed that such an attack could help liberate Ukraine from Russian control.

In 1732, under the guise of a Persian merchant, Orlik was sent back to Istanbul and from there, with documents of a French doctor, he went to the Crimean Khan Kaplan Giray, with whom he was acquainted in his childhood. After receiving assurances from the Khan that he would strike Russia if necessary, Orlik returned to Istanbul.

After the death of Augustus II in 1733, Orlik delivered Stanislaw Leszczynski and a million florins for bribing the Polish nobility to Warsaw from Paris. In a secret eight-day trip, the king (traveling as a German merchant) and Orlik were accompanied by only one French nobleman. Afterward, Orlik returned to Paris, where he was rewarded by King Louis XV with a diamond worth 10,000 ecus and by the Queen of France (Stanislaw Leszczynski's daughter) with her portrait adorned with precious stones.

In early 1734, Orlik was sent back to Istanbul and to the Crimean Khan with a new mission. During this time, according to his biographer Ilko Borszczak, Orlik secretly visited Ukraine and communicated with Russian opposition Cossack commanders (although this version is not confirmed by documents). However, his mission ended without results as Turkey and the Khan did not start a war with Russia at that time. Afterward, he proposed an exotic project of resettling the Zaporozhian Cossacks on the Rhine under French protection, but it did not receive government support.

In 1735, Orlik was sent to Königsberg to evacuate Stanislaw Leszczynski, who had been dethroned after the arrival of Russian troops and found refuge in East Prussia. After completing this mission, Orlik lived in France but in 1737, after the start of the Russo-Turkish War, he was again sent on a secret mission to Turkey. In 1739, traveling as a French merchant, he had his last meeting with his father, who was living in Bucharest and Jassy at that time.

During the Russo-Swedish War in 1742, Orlik was sent on a mission to Sweden and actively tried to persuade the Swedish government to continue military actions. After his father's death in the same year, he became the de facto leader of the small Ukrainian "Mazepintsy" emigration.

Orlik belonged to the personal secret service of Louis XV, known as the "Secret du roi". The king relied on individuals he personally knew, including Orlik, rather than the official French diplomacy. In 1744, Orlik was awarded the Order of Saint Louis by the King (he also held the Swedish Order of the Sword and the Polish Order of the White Eagle from Stanislaw Leszczynski).

Throughout his career as a French diplomat and spy, Orlik sought to organize an anti-Russian coalition consisting of France, Sweden, Poland, Turkey, and Crimea, believing that it would help establish an independent Ukrainian state. From 1745 to 1747, he participated in several battles as part of the French army, including the famous Battle of Rocoux and the Siege of Namur.

In 1747, Orlik married Louise-Hélène le Brun de Denteville, a representative of a noble lineage. After the marriage, he became a wealthy French landowner and was able to maintain his own regiment. In the same year, he was promoted to colonel and appointed as the commander of the Royal Suedois dragoon regiment, stationed in Lorraine. The king officially recognized him with the title of Count.

In this capacity, Orlik maintained close ties with Ukrainian emigrants and corresponded with them. He continued to collaborate with the "Secret du roi" and became an "expert" on Ukrainian affairs at the French court. His candidacy was considered for the position of Turkish ambassador to Istanbul but was not appointed due to the fear of conflict with Russia.

In 1757, he was promoted to the rank of "Maréchal de camp" (a lower general rank). He participated in the Seven Years' War, including the battles of Rossbach, Cimbria, and Lutzelberg, as well as the sieges of Astemberg and the occupation of Hanover. In 1759, he commanded a corps in Marshal de Broglie's army. On April 13, 1759, he distinguished himself in the Battle of Bergen near Frankfurt-on-the-Main, contributing to the defeat of the Prussian forces. In this battle, he was wounded and was promoted to lieutenant general on May 25.

On July 1, 1759, still not fully recovered from his wounds, Orlik once again led a corps. On August 1 of the same year, he participated in the unsuccessful Battle of Minden, in which the French were defeated, and he was wounded again.

On November 14, 1759, Orlik died from his wounds in Germany and was buried on the banks of the Rhine. Louis XV wrote to his widow, "Madam! I have lost one of the most worthy gentlemen of France, a courageous and outstanding general whose name will remain in the glorious annals of the Army. In your boundless grief, find comfort in my acknowledgment that Count Orlik died as a man of his lineage and dignity should die."