First battle of Polotsk

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First battle of Polotsk
Part of French invasion of Russia (1812)
Date August 17-18, 1812 Location Polotsk, Belarus Result Tactically Indecisive; French strategic victory
Combatants
Russian Empire	First French Empire
Commanders
Prince Peter Wittgenstein	Nicolas Oudinot, Marquis Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Strength
22,000 troops, 135 cannons	18,000 troops, 120 cannons
Casualties
4,500-5,500	6,000

Napoleon's invasion of Russia
Ostrovno – Klyastitsy – Smolensk – 1st Polotsk – Valutino – Borodino – Tarutino – Maloyaroslavets – 2nd Polotsk – Czasniki – Vyazma – Smoliani – Krasnoi – Berezina

In the First battle of Polotsk, which took place on August 17-18, 1812, Russian troops under the command of Peter Wittgenstein defeated French troops led by Nicolas Oudinot and stopped their advance to Saint Petersburg. The first battle of Polotsk should be distinguished from the second battle of Polotsk which took place during the same campaign two months later.

After the battle of Klyastitsy and several minor losses Oudinot's Corps retreated to Polotsk. In the early morning of August, 17 the 1st Infantry Corps led by Wittgenstein attacked the French positions near the village of Spas, forcing the French to retreat. Oudinot transported additional units to the sector of the attack and also counterattacked in the centre. By the night both the French and the Russians managed to keep their positions. Oudinot was wounded and had to hand over the administration to Gouvion Saint-Cyr.

The next morning Gouvion Saint-Cyr undertook a major offensive. He managed to mislead Wittgenstein about the area of the offensive, regroup his troops and suddenly attack the left flank and centre of the Russian positions. In the beginning the offensive was a major success, the French troops crushed the Russians and captured seven cannons. When the defeat seemed imminent, Wittgenstein organized cavalry counterattack. It caused a scare among the French who had to ceased the offensive and retreat. On the other hand, Wittgenstein retreated to the Drissa. For the next two months both the French and the Russians ceased any attempts to upset the balance of powers.