Early writing He was educated at the artillery specialized school and the
General Staff Academy. His first work on military art —
Operations to slow down and prevent the blockade and siege of a fortress (
Military Compendium 1881, No. 11 and 12). Orlov's extensive work:
Review of the South-West Theatre of War (), compiled in 1886–7, was kept in
manuscript in the
Military-Scientific Committee. After submitting his
dissertation (''Suvorov. Analysis of Suvorov's military actions in Italy in 1799'' (),
St. Petersburg, 1892) he was appointed
professor at the General Staff Academy in the Department of Military Art, with the appointment to read military history and
tactics; at the
Nikolayevskaya Naval Academy he taught
naval strategy. In his dissertation Orlov held a completely new view of
Alexander Suvorov's
actions in Italy and especially the
battle of Novi. In compiling this work, Orlov used the works of such historians/writers as
Dmitry Milyutin,
Alexander Petrushevsky, ,
Wilhelm Rüstow, ,
Carl von Clausewitz, and
Antoine-Henri Jomini; Orlov studied
archival documents, brought French and Austrian sources that had never been translated into Russian, and introduced numerous detailed maps illustrating the warfare. The following works by Orlov are also devoted to Suvorov:
The storming of Izmail by Suvorov in 1790 (; St. Petersburg, 1890),
Suvorov on the Trebbia in 1799 (; St. Petersburg, 1st ed. 1893 and 2nd ed. 1895),
The storming of Praga by Suvorov in 1794 (; St. Petersburg, 1894); in
The Russian Messenger for 1894 and 1896 he elaborated Gryazev's
memoirs, in the articles: ''Suvorov's Italian and Swiss campaign
() and The return of the Russian troops from Switzerland in 1799'' ().
Ballooning In 1886 Orlov commanded the ballooning park at the big manoeuvres near
Brest and made a flight through
Białowieża Forest; after that he made several more flights with scientific purposes. He was the first in
Russia to propose to adopt for
military ballooning the transportation of hydrogen compressed under high pressures (130 and 200 atmospheres) and the production of hydrogen by factory method by
electrolysis using turbines (e.g. waterfalls). Orlov's works on ballooning:
Report on the activity of the ballooning park on manoeuvres near Brest in 1886 (;
Engineering Journal, 1887, Nos. 6–7),
Dry ballooning parks (; ibid., 1889),
Brief description of the material part of the aeronautical department (; St. Petersburg, 1889);
On the tactics of balloons (; St. Petersburg, 1892).
Future writing Other works by Orlov:
Joint actions of the land army and fleet (; St. Petersburg, 1894),
The use of three types of weapons under the Italian statute (; St. Petersburg, 1895),
Manual for testing for the rank of warrant officer of the reserve (; St. Petersburg, 1895),
Italians in Abyssinia (; St. Petersburg, 1896),
Guards jaegers under Pavel Petrovich (; St. Petersburg, 1896),
Elementary tactics (; St. Petersburg, 1897), a
lithographed course of
Marine strategy (; 1897). Orlov served as assistant managing editor and supervised the publication of the
Encyclopedia of Military and Marine Sciences (St. Petersburg, 1882–97), in which he placed many articles on tactics,
strategy, and
military history. In 1889 Orlov was promoted to
colonel, and in 1899 — to
major-general. In 1898 Orlov was granted a massive antique silver ladle by the Highest Order. To facilitate the studies of military youth, Orlov printed several editions of the
Manual for the preparation to the test for the rank of ensign of the infantry reserve () and the same manual for cavalry,
The use in battle of 3 types of weapons according to the Italian statutes (),
Sketch of tactics of cavalry according to foreign statutes (),
The use of horse artillery in combat (); in addition, under his editorship was published
Textbook of tactics () by , adopted at that time in all military and
junker schools, and 10 editions of
Reference book on tactics () by Nikolay V. Levitsky, then known in the
Russian Army.
Boxers 29 June 1900. Orlov received an offer to go to the
Far East, to take part in
military operations in China, and on the 30th left for
Chita, where he was to form the Hailar Detachment, the chief of which he was appointed, and at the same time was appointed commander of the
Transbaikal Cossack Brigade by the Highest Order. The Hailar Detachment, composed almost exclusively of preferential
Cossacks, was entrusted with the defence of
Transbaikalia.
The movement deep into Manchuria was considered risky due to the alleged lack of water. However, having in mind to act actively, the Hailar Detachment invaded
Manchuria on 23 July, on 30 July broke the
Chinese hoard near Ongun (3 steel
Krupp guns were taken), pursued them and took the town of
Hailar on 3 August. On the 14th of August the Hailar Detachment defeated a new accumulation of Chinese at
Yakeshi, and on the 24th of August attacked the Chinese army, which had gathered again at the fortified position on the
Greater Khingan ridge, and dispersed it, taking 5 steel Krupp guns and the whole transport. Having no more enemy in front of him, Orlov moved quickly (339.2 km [210.7 mi] in 10 days) to
Qiqihar, where he joined the detachment of
General Rennenkampf and advanced the latter to
Boduna, where the Hailar Detachment also moved, due to the news about the appearance of a new Chinese army. From Boduna Orlov advanced General Rennenkampf to
Jilin, where he also moved with the Hailar Detachment, but, by order of his superiors, was forced to turn to
Harbin. During this war, in one of the
reconnaissance missions, a horse fell under Orlov and he broke 3 ribs.
War with Japan After
demobilization of the detachment Orlov was appointed chief of the 54th Infantry Reserve Brigade, which with the
Russo-Japanese War's beginning in 1904 he
mobilized and
deployed in the
V Siberian Corps, and was appointed commander of one of its
divisions, namely the 54th. Upon arrival to the
Manchurian Army Orlov participated in the combats
near Liaoyang, on the left flank, at the Yantai Mines. Here on 2 September he took part in a hand-to-hand infantry fight, being on horseback the whole time, and was wounded from 20 paces in the stomach by two bullets and concussed by two more. In the official history of the Russian–
Japanese war of 1904–5 (3rd part of III volume, pp. 223–242) Orlov's actions are described in detail. Having received relief from wounds, but not yet cured completely, Orlov, at the
General Kuropatkin's invitation, returned to the army and was appointed chief of the
3rd Infantry Division, with which he was in constant fighting in the winter of 1904–5, occupying with his division the closest position to the Japanese
trenches. In the
battle of Mukden Orlov commanded the rearguard of the XVII Army Corps and on 10 March endured a day of hard fighting in 3 consecutive positions. During the Mukden combats Orlov's division suffered a loss of 5,700 people, and he himself was shell-shocked in the head, but he did not leave the command and continued to be the chief of the rearguard until the army stopped at the
Sipingjie positions: then he was appointed chief of the 3rd Army's advance guard and commanded it until the peace was ratified. In 1905 Orlov was promoted to
lieutenant-general. In February 1906 Orlov returned to Russia with the 3rd Infantry Division and commanded it until 1910, when he was named commander of the
12th Infantry Division.
Later career Having switched from professorship to military service, Orlov published:
Zabaikals in Manchuria – sketch of the campaign of the Hailar Detachment ();
The Battle of Grunwald in 1410 ();
The war for the liberation of Germany in 1813 and the deposition of Napoleon in 1814 ();
The pacification of the Polish rebellion in 1831 and in 1863 ();
Organisation of field trips to France ();
Combat shooting with manoeuvring (). Orlov was a founding member of the
Imperial Military Historical Society and a contributor to the
"Sytin Military Encyclopedia". ==Notes==