On 7 September 1812, the Battle of Borodino was fought in Russia between the French under Napoleon Bonaparte and the Russians under Mikhail Kutuzov during the Napoleonic Wars.
Why did it happen?
On 4 June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with a massive army of 600,000 soldiers to defeat the Russians who had deserted his Continental System. However, coherent command over a 480-kilometre front with messages being carried on horseback proved impossible, and supply problems mounted inexorably as the Russians avoided direct battle and retreated towards Moscow. By late August, after defeating a Russian army at Smolensk, Napoleon had lost a third of his forces to hardship and disease. At the start of September, Russian general Mikhail Kutuzov decided to make a stand at Borodino, 120-kilometres west of Moscow, where he waited for Napoleon, who sought a total victory that would end the Russian campaign once and for all.
Who was involved?
The French army at Borodino numbered 102,000 infantry, 29,000 cavalry and 587 artillery. This force was mostly made up of many different nationalities within Europe: Austrians, Prussians, Poles, Italians, Swiss and Danes. Only a minority were French. The Russian army at Borodino numbered 96,000 infantry, 24,000 cavalry, and 624 artillery. The great majority of the Russian army was packed into a small salient between the villages of Utitsa and Borodino to force Napoleon to fight an attrition battle. In the words of Dominic Lieven, “The cramped battlefield would give his units little room to manoeuvre or to exploit tactical successes. It would in the most literal sense cramp Napoleon’s own genius” (Lieven, 2009, p.194).
What happened?
At 6 am, the battle began with the Russians being driven out of Borodino and back across the Kolocha river where they suffered heavy casualties from the French. After the French were halted from pursuing further, they decided to bring up their artillery to open fire upon the Raevsky Redoubt. Shortly afterwards, the French right-wing and centre under Davout and Ney respectively began their assault on the Bagration fleches and Raevsky Redoubt with fierce fighting continuing throughout the day. During this phase of the battle, the Russian generals Petr Bagration and Mikhail Borozdin were wounded and put out of action. On the Russian right-wing, several thousand cavalry under Matvei Platov outflanked and attacked the French left-wing before being repulsed by French infantry. On the Russian left-wing, fierce but indecisive fighting took place around Utitsa and the Old Smolensk Road. Despite the arrival of Russian reinforcements, the French right-wing managed to push the Russian left wing back past Utitsa. At 3 pm, after he refused to commit his Imperial Guards to the battle, Napoleon sent his heavy cavalry to assault the Raevsky Redoubt. After heavy fighting, the Russian army decided to retreat after suffering 44,000 casualties. French casualties at Borodino numbered 30,000.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Borodino was a victory for the French. Eight days after the battle, on 15 September, Napoleon occupied the Russian capital, Moscow. Unfortunately for Napoleon, not only did the Russians refuse to accept defeat, but they also set Moscow on fire and destroyed all their food stores so the French soldiers and horses could not eat. On 19 October, with his army starving and succumbing to frostbite, Napoleon ordered a retreat which saw his original army of 600,000 reduced to a mere 10,000 troops by the time he reached France in December. The invasion of Russia was a disaster from which Napoleon never recovered, and the following year, a Sixth Coalition was formed consisting of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig.
Bibliography:
Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.
Haythornthwaite, Philip. Borodino 1812: Napoleon’s great gamble. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2012.
Lieven, Dominic. Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814. Suffolk, Allen Lane, 2009.
Olszewski, Z. “Battle of Borodino 1812.” Napoleon Styka. Last revised 2012. www.napoleonistyka.atspace.com/French_Russian_order_of_battle_Borodino.htm
Robinson, Tony. Battles That Changed History. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2018.