Battle of Borodino

Battle of Borodino
Part of French invasion of Russia (1812)
Battle of Borodino 1812.png
Painting of the Battle of Borodino by Louis Lejeune
Date September 7, 1812
Location Borodino, Russia
Result French victory
Belligerents
Flag of France.svg First French Empire Blason Russie XIXe siècle.svg Russian Empire[1]
Commanders
Flag of France.svg Napoleon I Blason Russie XIXe siècle.svg Mikhail Kutuzov
Strength
130,000 men, 587 guns[2] 120,000 men, 640 guns
Casualties and losses
35,000 dead, wounded and captured[3] ~44,000 dead, wounded and captured[4][5]
Saltanovka – Ostrovno – Klyastitsy – Smolensk – 1st Polotsk – Valutino – Borodino – Tarutino – Maloyaroslavets – 2nd Polotsk – Czasniki – Vyazma – Smoliani – Krasnoi – Berezina

The Battle of Borodino (Russian: Бородинское сражение, French: Bataille de la Moskowa), fought on September 7, 1812,[6] was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties. The French Grande Armée under Emperor Napoleon I attacked the Imperial Russian army of General Mikhail Kutuzov near the village of Borodino, west of the town of Mozhaysk, and eventually captured the main positions on the battlefield, but failed to destroy the Russian army. About a third of Napoleon's soldiers were killed or wounded. The Russians losses were even heavier, but they could more easily replace them.

The battle itself ended in disengagement, but strategic considerations and the losses incurred forced the Russians to withdraw next day. The battle at Borodino was a pivotal point in the campaign, since it was the last offensive action fought by Napoleon in Russia. By withdrawing, the Russian army preserved its military potential and eventually forced Napoleon out of the country.

Contents

Background

Main article: Napoleon's invasion of Russia

The French Grande Armée had begun its invasion of Russia in June, 1812. Czar Alexander I proclaimed a Patriotic War in defence of the motherland. The Russian forces — initially massing along the Polish frontier — fell back before the speedy French advance. Count Michael Barclay de Tolly was serving as commander-in-chief of the Russian army, but his attempts at forming a defensive line were thwarted by the fast-moving French.

Napoleon I on the Borodino Heights, by Vasily Vereshchagin (1897)

Napoleon advanced from Vitebsk, hoping to catch the Russian Army in the open where he could exterminate it.[7] The French Army was not in a good position since it was 925 km (575 miles) from its nearest logistical base at Kovno. This allowed the Russians to attack the extended French supply lines.[8] Despite this, the lure of a decisive battle drove Napoleon on. The central French force, under Napoleon’s direct command, had crossed the Niemen with 286,000 men, but, by the time of the battle, it numbered 161,475 (most had died of starvation and disease).[9] Barclay had been unable to offer battle, which allowed the Grand Armée’s logistic problems to deplete the French. Internal political in-fighting by his subordinates also prevented earlier stands by the Russian armies on at least two occasions.[10]

Barclay's constant retreat was perceived by his fellow generals and by the court as an unwillingness to fight, and he was removed from command. The new Russian commander, Prince Mikhail Kutuzov, was also unable to establish a defensive position until within 125 kilometers of Moscow. Kutuzov picked an area near the village of Borodino of limited defensibility[11], and from September 3, strengthened it with earthworks, notably the Rayevski Redoubt in the center-right of the line and three open, arrow-shaped 'Bagration flèches' (named for Petr Bagration) on the Russian left.

Opposing forces

See also: Russian Army order of battle (1812)
Battle of Borodino, by Peter von Hess, 1843.

Russian forces present at the battle included 180 infantry battalions, 164 cavalry squadrons, 20 Cossack regiments, and 55 artillery batteries (637 artillery pieces). In total, the Russians fielded 103,800 troops.[12] There were 7,000 Cossacks as well as 10,000 Russian militiamen in the area who did not participate in the battle. After the battle, the militia units were broken up in order to provide reinforcements to depleted regular infantry battalions. Of the 637 Russian artillery pieces, 300 were held in reserve but all except few of these take part in the battle [13] About 8,000 Russian troops were never committed to action.

French forces included 214 battalions of infantry, 317 squadrons of cavalry and 587 artillery pieces, a total of 124,000 troops.[2] However, the French Imperial Guard, which consisted of 30 infantry battalions, 27 cavalry squadrons and 109 artillery pieces, 18,500 troops in all, were never committed to action.[14]

Prelude

Kutuzov assumed command on August 29, 1812.[15] The 67-year old general lacked experience in modern warfare and was not seen by his contemporaries as the equal of Napoleon. He was favoured over Barclay, however, because he was Russian, not of German extraction, and it was also believed that he would be able to muster a good defense.[16] Perhaps his greatest strength was that he had the total loyalty of the army and its various sub-commanders.[17] Kutuzov ordered another retreat to Gshatsk on August 30 and by that time the ratio of French to Russian forces had shrunk from three to one to five to four.[18] The position at Borodino was selected because it seemed to present the best defensive position before Moscow itself was reached.[19]

The Battle of Shevardino Redoubt

The initial Russian disposition, which stretched south of the new Smolensk Highway (Napoleon's expected route of advance), was anchored on its left by a pentagonal earthwork redoubt erected on a mound near the village of Shevardino. The French, however, advanced from the west and south of the village, creating a brief but bloody prelude to the main battle.[20]

General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov at Borodino

The struggle opened on September 4th when Prince Joachim Murat's French forces met Konovnitzyn's Russians in a massive cavalry clash. The Russians eventually retreated to the Kolorzkoi Cloister when their flank was threatened. Fighting was renewed the next day, but Konovyitzyn again retreated when his flank was threatened by the arrival of Prince Eugene's Fourth Corps. The Russians retreated to the Shevardino Redoubt, where a sharp fight occurred. Murat led Nansouty's First Cavalry Corps and Montbrun's Second Cavalry Corps, supported by Compan's Division of Louis Nicholas Davout's First Infantry Corps against the redoubt. Simultaneously, Prince Josef Poniatowski's infantry attacked the position from the south. The redoubt was taken at the cost of some 4,000 French and 7,000 Russian casualties.[21]

The unexpected French advance from the west and the seizure of the Shevardino redoubt threw the Russian position into disarray. The left flank of their defensive position was gone and Russian forces withdrew to the east, having to create a new, makeshift position centered around the village of Utitza. The left flank of the Russian position was, therefore, hanging in the air and ripe for a flanking attack.

Battle of Borodino

The position

The Russian position at Borodino consisted of a series of disconnected earthworks running in an arc from the Moskva River on the right, along its tributary the Kalocha (whose steep banks added to the defense) and towards the village of Utitza on the left.[22] Thick woods interspersed along the Russian left and center (on the French side of the Kolocha) also aided the defense by making the deployment and control of French forces difficult. The Russian center was defended by the Raevsky Redoubt, a massive open-backed earthwork mounting 19 12-pounder cannon which had a clear field of fire all the way to the banks of the Kolocha stream.

Bagration's fleches

Nansouty's cavalry attack squares of Russian grenadiers to the left of Semyanovskaya (foreground) to support Ney's attack. Detail from the Borodino Panorama by Franz Alekseevitch Rubo, 1912.

The initial French attack was aimed at seizing the three Russian positions collectively known as the Bagration flèches, four arrow-head shaped, open-backed earthworks which arced out to the left en echelon in front of the Kolocha stream. These positions helped support the Russian left, which had no terrain advantages. The fleches were themselves supported by artillery from the village of Semyanovskaya, whose elevation dominated the other side of the Kolocha.[22] The battle began at 0600 with the opening of the 102-gun French grand battery against the Russian center.[23] Davout sent Compan's Division against the southernmost of the fleches, with Dessaix's Division echeloned out to the left.[21] When Compans debouched from the woods on the far bank of the Kolocha, he was hit by massed Russian cannon fire. Both Compans and Desaix were wounded, but the attack was pressed.[24]

Davout, seeing the confusion, personally led his 57th Brigade forward until he had his horse shot from under him. He fell so hard that General Sorbier reported him as dead. General Rapp arrived to replace him only to find Davout alive and leading the 57th forward again. Rapp then led the 61st Brigade forward when he was wounded (for the 22nd time in his career). By 0730, Davout had gained control of the three fleches. Prince Bagration quickly led a counterattack that threw the French out of the positions, only to have Marshal Michel Ney lead a charge by the 24th Regiment that retook them.[24] Although not enamoured of Barclay, Bagration turned to him for aid, ignoring Kutuzov altogether. Barclay, to his credit, responded with dispatch, sending three guard regiments, eight grenadier battalions, and twenty-four 12 pounder cannon at their best pace to bolster Semyenovskaya.[25]

Ney's infantry push Russian grenadiers back from the fleches (which can be seen from the rear in the background). Detail from the Borodino Panorama.

During the confused fighting, French and Russian units moved forward into impenetrable smoke and were smashed by artillery and musketry fire that was horrendous even by Napoleonic standards. Infantry and cavalrymen had difficulty maneuvering over the heaps of corpses and masses of wounded. Prince Murat advanced with his cavalry around the fleches to attack Bagration's infantry, but was confronted by Duka's 2nd Cuirassier Division supported by Neverovsky's infantry. This counterpunch drove Murat to seek the cover of allied Wurtemburger Infantry. Barclay's reinforcements, however, were sent into the fray only to be torn to pieces by French artillery, leaving Friant's Division in control of the Russian forward position at 1130. Dust, smoke, confusion, and exhaustion all combined to keep the French commanders on the field (Davout, Ney, and Murat) from comprehending that all the Russians before them had fallen back, were in confusion, and ripe for the taking. Reinforcements requested from Napoleon, who had been sick with a cold and too far from the action to really observe what was going on, were refused. It may simply have been a matter of the Emperor refusing to utilize his last reserve, the Imperial Guard, so far from home.[26]

Struggle for the Raevsky redoubt

Saxon cuirassiers and Polish lancers of Latour-Maubourg's cavalry corps clash with Russian cuirassiers. The rise of Raevsky redoubt is on right, the steeple of Borodino church in the background. Detail from the Borodino Panorama.

Prince Eugene advanced his corps against the village of Borodino, taking it in a rush from the Russian Guard Jaegers. However, the advancing columns were disordered and once they cleared Borodino, they faced fresh Russian assault columns that drove the French back to the village. General Delzons was posted to Borodino to prevent the Russians retaking it.[27] Morand's division then crossed to the north side of the Semyenovka Stream, while the remainder of Eugene's forces crossed three bridges across the Kalocha to the south, placing them on the same side of the stream as the Russians. He then deployed most of his artillery and began to push the Russians back toward the Raevsky redoubt. Broussier and Morand's divisions then advanced together with furious artillery support. The redoubt changed hands, Paskevitch's regiment fleeing and having to be rallied by Barclay.[28] Kutuzov then ordered Yermolov to take action and the general brought forward three horse artillery batteries which began to blast the open-ended redoubt while the 3rd Battalion of the Ufa Regiment and two jaeger regiments brought up by Barclay rushed in with the bayonet to eliminate Bonami's Brigade.[29] This action returned the redoubt to Russian control.

Eugene's artillery continued to pound Russian support columns, while Marshals Ney and Davout set up a crossfire with artillery on the Semenovskoya heights.[30] Barclay countered by moving Eugene (Russian) over to the right to support Miloradovitch in his defense of the redoubt.[31] When the general brought up troops against an attacking French brigade, he described it as "A walk into Hell".[30] During the height of the battle, Kutuzov's subordinates were making all of the decisions for him. According to Colonel Karl von Clausewitz of On War fame, the Russian commander "seemed to be in a trance."[31] With the death of General Kutaisov, Chief of Artillery, most of the Russian cannon sat useless on the heights to the rear and were never ordered into battle, while the French artillery was wreaking havoc on the Russians.[32]

French and Russian cavalry clash behind the Raevsky redoubt. Details from Rubo's panoramic painting.

At 1400, the assault against the redoubt was renewed by Napoleon, with Broussier's, Morand's, and Gerard's divisions launching a massive frontal attack with Chastel's light cavalry division on their left and the II Reserve Cavalry Corps on their right.[31] General Caulaincourt ordered Wathier's cuirassier division to lead the assault. Barclay watched Eugene's assault preparations and countered by moving forces against it. The French artillery, however, began chopping up the assembling force even as it gathered. Caulaincourt led the attack of Wathier's cuirassiers into the opening at the back of the redoubt and met his death as the charge was stopped cold by Russian musketry.[33] General Thielemann then led eight Saxon and two Polish cavalry squadrons against the back of the redoubt while officers and sergeants of his command actually forced their horses through the redoubt's embrasures, sowing confusion and allowing the French cavalry and infantry to take the position. The battle had all but ended, with both sides so exhausted that only the artillery was still at work.[34] Napoleon once again refused to release the Guard and the battle wound down around 1600.[35]

End of the battle

Modern reenactment of the battle.

Barclay communicated with Kutuzov in order to receive further instructions. According to Wolzogen (in an account dripping with sarcasm), the commander was found a half-hour away on the road to Moscow, encamped with an entourage of young nobles and grandly pronouncing he would drive Napoleon off the next day.[36] Despite his bluster, Kutuzov knew from dispatches that his army had been too badly hurt to fight a continuing action the following day. He knew exactly what he was doing: by fighting the pitched battle, he could now retreat with the Russian army still intact, lead its recovery, and force the weakened French forces to move even further from their bases of supply. The denouement became a textbook example of what a hold logistics placed upon an army far from its center of logistics.[37] On September 8, the Russian army moved away from the battlefield in twin columns to Semolino, allowing Napoleon to occupy Moscow and await a Russian surrender that would never come.[17]

Casualties

The casualties of the battle were staggering: according French General Staff Inspector P. Denniee, Grand Army lost 28,000 soldiers. 6,562 (including 269 officers) were reported as dead, 21450 as wounded [38]. This number (about 30,000) takes most non russian historians. But according French historian Aristid Martinien [39] at least 460 French officers (known by name) killed in battle. This calls into question other Denniee dates (if soldiers casualties distorted as officers casualties 28,000x460/269=48,000). Total Grand Army lost 1,928 officers dead and wounded, including 49 generals [40].

38,500 Russian troops also were reported as dead, wounded or missing, but without militia and kosaks [41]. This bringing Russian losses to around 44,000. Russian lost 211 officers dead and 1180 wounded [42]. 22 Russian generals were dead or wounded, including Prince Bagration, who died of his wounds on September 24.[5] It should be noted that a wound upon that battlefield was a death sentence as often as not, there not being enough food for the healthy. As many wounded died of starvation as from their wounds or lack of care.[43] French captured 700-900 Russian including 1 general, and 15 - 17 guns. Russian captured about 1000 French (also including 1 general), and took 13 guns [44].

French infantrymen had expended almost two million rounds of ammunition, while their artillery had expended some 60,000 rounds.[5] This amount of flying metal had severe effects on the participants. Around 8,500 casualties were sustained during each hour of the conflict — the equivalent of a full-strength company wiped out every minute. In some divisions casualties exceeded 80 percent of reported strength prior to the battle.[45]

Outcome

Although the battle itself was inconclusive, Kutuzov lost almost half his troops and afterward withdrew to the southeast, allowing the French forces to enter Moscow.

Napoleon’s success allowed him to occupy Moscow. But because he was unable to win a decisive victory at Borodino (the only full-scale engagement of the campaign) Napoleon was eventually forced to retreat.

The Russian armies then turned to pursuit leading Napoleon on the disastrous, for him Retreat from Moscow

Legacy

1987 Soviet commemorative coin, reverse

Napoleon's own account of the battle gives a good understanding of it: "Of the fifty battles I have fought, the most terrible was that before Moscow. The French showed themselves to be worthy victors, and the Russians can rightly call themselves invincible."[46]

Poet Mikhail Lermontov romanticised the battle in his poem Borodino, based on the account of his uncle, a combat participant. The battle was famously described by Count Leo Tolstoy in his novel War and Peace as "a continuous slaughter which could be of no avail either to the French or the Russians". A huge panorama representing the battle was painted by Franz Roubaud for the centenary of Borodino and installed on the Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow to mark the 150th anniversary of the event. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also composed his 1812 Overture to commemorate the battle.

A commemorative 1-ruble coin was released in the USSR in 1987 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, and four million of them were minted.[47] A minor planet 3544 Borodino, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1977 was named after the village Borodino.[48]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Note that although no official flag existed during this period, the tricolour represents the officer sash colours and the Double Eagle represents the Tsar's official state symbol
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Riehn, p. 479.
  3. ↑ The book 'Napoleon' by Herman Lindqvist. Page 368, chapter 20, 'The battle of Borodino, the bloodiest of them all'
  4. ↑ Smith, p. 392
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Riehn, p. 255.
  6. ↑ August 26 in the Julian calendar then used in Russia
  7. ↑ Riehn, p. 229.
  8. ↑ Riehn, p. 230.
  9. ↑ Riehn, p. 231.
  10. ↑ Riehn, p. 234.
  11. ↑ Tolstoy, L.: War and Peace, Book 3, part 2, Chapter 19
  12. ↑ Riehn. p. 476.
  13. ↑ Mikaberidze, Alexander. The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Against Kutuzov. London: Pen & Sword, 2007. 276 pages. ISBN-13# 9781844156030
  14. ↑ Riehn, p. 478.
  15. ↑ Riehn, p. 237.
  16. ↑ Riehn, p. 235.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Riehn, p. 236.
  18. ↑ Riehn, pp. 237–8.
  19. ↑ Riehn, p. 238.
  20. ↑ "Battle of Shevardino"
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Riehn, p. 243.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Riehn, p. 244.
  23. ↑ Riehn, p. 245
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Riehn, p. 246.
  25. ↑ Riehn, pp. 246–8.
  26. ↑ Riehn, p. 247.
  27. ↑ Riehn, p. 248
  28. ↑ Riehn, p. 249.
  29. ↑ Riehn, pp. 249–50.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Riehn, p. 250.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Riehn, p. 251.
  32. ↑ Riehn, pp. 250, 251.
  33. ↑ Riehn, p. 252.
  34. ↑ Riehn, p. 253.
  35. ↑ Riehn, pp. 254–5.
  36. ↑ Riehn, pp. 253–4.
  37. ↑ Riehn, p. 260.
  38. ↑ P. Denniee. Itineraire de l'Empereur Napoleon. Paris, 1842
  39. ↑ Martinien A. Tableaux par corps et par batailles des officiers tues et blesses pendant les guerres de l'Empire (1805-1815). P., 1899;
  40. ↑ Martinien A. Tableaux par corps et par batailles des officiers tues et blesses pendant les guerres de l'Empire (1805-1815). P., 1899;
  41. ↑ О потерях российской армии в сражении при Бородино 24-26 августа 1812 года. статья С.В. Львова
  42. ↑ О потерях российской армии в сражении при Бородино 24-26 августа 1812 года. статья С.В. Львова
  43. ↑ Riehn, p. 261.
  44. ↑
  45. ↑ Alexander Mikaberidze, The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Against Kutuzov, London: Pen & Sword, 2007, ISBN 1844156036
  46. ↑ Borodino, Napoleon.org.
  47. ↑ "Добро пожаловать на сервер "Монетный двор"" (in ru). Mint. Retrieved on 2008-10-21.
  48. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (5th ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. pp. 298. ISBN 3540002383. http://books.google.com/books?q=3543+Ningbo+1964. 

References

Monuments

External links