TASS DOSSIER. On September 8, every year since 1995, Russia celebrates the Day of the Borodino battle between the Russian army and the French army.

Established by the federal law “On days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia”, signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on March 13, 1995.

The battle near the village of Borodino between the Russian army under the command of commander Mikhail Kutuzov and the French army under the command of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte took place on September 7 (August 26 - old style) 1812 during the Patriotic War.

Before the battle

After Napoleon's invasion of Russia in June 1812, the Russian troops opposing him constantly retreated towards Moscow, avoiding a general battle. In August 1812, Russian Emperor Alexander I removed Mikhail Barclay de Tolly from his post as commander-in-chief and appointed Mikhail Kutuzov in his place, demanding that the latter prevent the French from capturing Moscow.

On September 3, the Russian army settled down at Borodino, 125 km from Moscow, and managed to build field fortifications. The French offensive was delayed by the battle at the Shevardinsky redoubt on September 5.

Progress of the battle

About 250 thousand people and 1 thousand 200 artillery pieces took part in the Battle of Borodino on both sides. The forces of the French and Russians were approximately equal. The battle lasted about 12 hours: the French managed to push back Kutuzov’s army in the center and on the left flank, including, after fierce resistance, taking the high mound on which the infantry corps of Lieutenant General Nikolai Raevsky was located.

At the same time, the French troops failed to achieve decisive success, which is why Napoleon did not risk introducing his main reserve, the guard, and ordered a retreat to their original positions. After the end of the battle, Kutuzov ordered the troops to retreat towards Mozhaisk.

Results of the battle

The Russian army lost, according to various estimates, from 40 to 50 thousand people killed, wounded and missing; French losses, according to various estimates, ranged from 30 to 50 thousand soldiers and officers.

Kutuzov reported to the emperor about the results of the Battle of Borodino: “The battle that took place on the 26th was the bloodiest of all those that are known in modern times. We completely won the battle site, and the enemy then retreated to the position where he came to attack us.” .

The Battle of Borodino ended in a draw, but became a turning point in the campaign of 1812. Kutuzov allowed Napoleon to take Moscow without a fight on September 14, but retained a combat-ready army and seized the strategic initiative. French troops, forced to leave the devastated and burned capital on October 19, unsuccessfully tried to break into the food-rich southern provinces of Russia to wait out the winter there, but were rebuffed by Kutuzov’s army.

After the battle of Maloyaroslavets, Napoleon decided to retreat through Smolensk. As a result of cold weather, food shortages, the actions of Russian partisan detachments and the battles near Krasnoe and the Berezina, Napoleon’s “Great Army” was practically destroyed - of the half a million people who invaded Russia in June, only 10 thousand managed to leave its territory in December.

On December 21, 1812, Kutuzov, in an order to the army, congratulated the troops on expelling the enemy from Russia and called on them to “complete the defeat of the enemy on his own fields.”

Perpetuation of memory

In 1820, at the site of the battle, the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands was consecrated, erected as a monument to military glory. In 1839, the Main Monument was solemnly opened on Kurgan Heights (destroyed in 1932, recreated in 1987), at the base of which the ashes of General Peter Bagration, who died from the wound he received in the Battle of Borodino, were reburied.

In 1912, monuments to corps, divisions and regiments of the Russian army were erected on the field. Monuments and buildings on the field were heavily damaged during the fighting with German troops in October 1941. From the 1950s to the 1980s. restoration work was carried out on the territory; in 1961, the Borodino field received the status of a state military-historical reserve. Currently, there are more than 200 monuments and memorable places on the territory of the museum-reserve. Every year at the beginning of September, a large-scale historical reconstruction of episodes of the battle is held on the Borodino field.

The Battle of Borodino was reflected in literature and art (poems by Denis Davydov, Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace”, paintings by Vasily Vereshchagin, Franz Roubaud, etc.), in memory of the battle in the USSR and The Russian Federation printed coins and postage stamps.

At 5 o'clock in the morning, Napoleon Bonaparte appeared at the command post at the Shevardinsky redoubt. The troops greeted him with a loud battle cry “Vive L’empereur!” (“Long live the Emperor!”) This battle cry very often confused the soldiers on the opposite side of the field. But this time nothing like that happened, since the Russian troops were ready to meet the French.

Battle of Borodino, 1822. Art. Louis Lejeune

First attack: the village of Borodino
Contrary to Kutuzov’s assumption, the French quickly attacked not the left, but the right flank of the Russians. 106th Line Regiment from the Corps Beauharnais broke into the village of Borodino. There were guards rangers here who were taken by surprise. A stubborn battle ensued, and by 6 o'clock the French captured the village of Borodino, but the 106th Regiment suffered heavy losses. Here, at about 5.30 am, the commander of this regiment, General, died L.-O. Ploson. This was the first French general to die in the Battle of Borodino, and by no means the last. During the retreat, Russian troops burned the bridge across the river. I'm beating. But Napoleon did not plan to develop an offensive on the right flank at this moment. On his orders, Beauharnais placed an artillery battery at Borodin and limited himself to shelling the Russian right flank.

Fight for Semenov flushes
Napoleon's main attack
The attack on the village of Borodino was only a diversionary maneuver. At half past five in the morning, Napoleon launched the main attack on the left flank, attacking the Semenov flushes. The corps of Napoleon's three best marshals were concentrated here: Davout, Neya And Murat. Bagration's troops had to hold back the French onslaught from the front and at the same time not expose the left flank, which Poniatowski had already begun to bypass, to attack. The general's division was the first to attack Company from the Davout building. It was he who was entrusted with this honor, since the day before he carried out a successful attack, thanks to which the Shevardinsky redoubt was captured. The enemy attack was met by the 27th Infantry Division D.P. Neverovsky and 2nd Consolidated Grenadier Division M.S. Vorontsova. Kompan attacked the flashes from the direction of the Utitsky forest, he was supported by the fire of 50 guns, but the attack was repulsed. Then Davout reinforced Compan's division with a division J.-M. Dessay. Compan again led his troops into the attack, but was seriously wounded. He was replaced by Dessay, who continued the attack, but was also seriously wounded. In turn, Dessaix was replaced by Napoleon's adjutant general J. Rapp, who suffered the same fate.

Attack of the 3rd Infantry Corps of Marshal Ney on the Semenov flushes. Engraving by Koenig after the original by K. Langlois
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The attack was repulsed. The French, seeing that three commanders in a row were put out of action, hesitated. Then the 57th regiment, led personally by Marshal Davout, went on the attack. The French burst into the far left flush, but at the decisive moment of this attack, Davout was shell-shocked and fell from his horse. They even managed to inform Napoleon that Davout had died. Taking advantage of the confusion that Davout's shell shock caused in the French ranks, Russian troops knocked the French out of the left flush.

Bagration's counterattacks
Bagration It was still possible to hold flushes thanks to competent battle tactics. When the enemy approached the fortifications, Bagration did not wait for the French to break into the lunette, but he himself began a counterattack.

Russian cavalry attack on a French battery at the Battle of Borodino. Hood. Mazurovsky V.V.
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This led to the fact that the French offensive breakthrough was reduced and almost completely dried up when they reached the fortifications. On the other hand, this led to large losses in the ranks of Russian soldiers. But it was an inevitable necessity. Moreover, French losses in the first hours of the battle were much greater. Thus, by coordinating a passive defense with a series of counterattacks, Bagration was able to repel a new offensive launched shortly after Napoleon learned that Davout was alive.

Poniatowski, meanwhile, continued his roundabout maneuver, but was delayed due to bad roads. This allowed Bagration to gain time and bring in reinforcements: 8 battalions from the corps N.N. Raevsky and division P.P. Konovnitsyna. He also turned to Barclay de Tolly and Kutuzov for help. Now Bagration had 15 thousand people on his flushes with 164 guns.

The French launched their next attack on the flushes at about 8 am, with the forces of Davout, Ney and Murat - a total of 30 thousand people supported by 160 guns. Under heavy fire from Russian guns, the French broke into not only the left, but also the right flush. By this time, the 2nd Consolidated Grenadier Division already resembled a regiment in size, and its commander Vorontsov was out of action, having received severe wounds with a bayonet. This was the first Russian general to be out of action in the Battle of Borodino. After some time he received a concussion and Neverovsky, his 27th Division also suffered heavy losses. Bagration personally led the reserve divisions with bayonets and pushed back the French infantry.

Then Napoleon threw into battle the cuirassier division of General Nansouty, which attacked the flushes with the support of French infantry, but was stopped by grapeshot.

Poniatowski threatens to strike in the rear
At about 9 a.m. Poniatowski took over Utitsu and threatened Bagration with a blow to the rear. Napoleon took advantage of this and launched General Friant’s division, which was considered exemplary, into an attack on the fléches. This time the French quickly broke the Russian resistance, occupied all three flushes and even broke through to the village of Semenovskoye. The fate of the left flank hung in the balance when Bagration again personally led the counterattack. He lost many soldiers, the prince was seriously wounded A.N. Gorchakov, but the flushes were repulsed again. Attack of Raevsky's battery and assault on flushes
Napoleon saw all the unsuccessful assaults on the flushes, and now, seeing the huge losses in the infantry, he began to make adjustments to the battle plan. He ordered the troops of Beauharnais to immediately attack Raevsky’s battery in order to pin down the right flank of the Russians, while Davout and Ney would again begin to storm the flushes. This happened around 10 am. Again the flushes fell from the first attack, but the grenadiers P.P. Konovnitsyn stopped the attack. Died in this battle youngest of the Tuchkovs - Alexander Alekseevich. The French lost here the chief of staff of the 1st Corps, General J.-L. Romefa.

At about 10.30 Beauharnais occupied the Kurgan heights on the second attempt, but the French failed to achieve success on the flushes - the troops of Davout and Ney could not even break into the flushes. The battle became more and more bloody, Napoleon was already launching attacks on the extreme right flank, where he was Miloradovich, and attacked the center of the Russian position, and then again transferred the full brunt of the attack to the left flank.

Bagration's injury
At 11 am Poniatowski attacked Tuchkova near the Utitsky mound, and Beauharnais was able to finally gain a foothold on the Raevsky battery and begin flanking fire on the flushes. From the rear, the flashes had no fortifications, Bagration's losses increased significantly. At this time, the French launched their eighth attack on the flushes. The columns of the 57th regiment were ahead. The French walked without firing, fearing to miss a good moment. Looking at the courage of the French grenadiers, Bagration even exclaimed “Bravo!” The attack was stronger than all previous ones, Bagration again counterattacked the French, and almost knocked them out of the flushes, but at that moment a fragment of a French grenade hit him in the left leg, and he fell from his horse. Panic gripped the troops and the soldiers began to flee. A nearby general P.P. Konovnitsyn was able to take the initiative and take command. Russian troops retreated to the village of Semenovskoye. The general arrived there D.S. Dokhturov, whom Kutuzov appointed commander of the Second Army instead of the wounded Bagration.

Battle for the village of Semenovskoye
Napoleon was not slow to take advantage of the confusion that Bagration’s injury caused in the Russian ranks, and threw almost all his available forces into an attack on the village of Semenovskoye. Cuirassiers attacked from the south Nansouty,, Friant’s division was advancing in the center, and cuirassiers went on the attack north of the village Latour-Maubourg. A fierce battle ensued. General Nansouty's cuirassiers attacked the Lithuanian and Izmailovsky regiments lined up in a square of the Life Guards, but they failed to break through their ranks.

Around 12, the battle for the village of Semenovskoye was still going on. In order to prevent a final breakthrough of the left flank, Kutuzov decided to divert part of the French reserves to the right flank. He ordered Uvarov's cavalry reserve and Platov's Cossacks to bypass the French left flank. The attack of the Russian cavalry was stopped near the village of Bezzubovo by the troops of the general F. Ornano, but this maneuver forced Napoleon to weaken the assault on the village of Semenovskoye. For a brief moment, this minor maneuver became the focus of attention; Napoleon personally arrived in Bezzubovo to find out what was the matter.

Battle for Kurgan Heights
Meanwhile Barclay de Tolly was able to carry out a successful attack and drive the French out of Kurgan Heights. Until about 2 p.m., the situation remained the same, and although stubborn battles took place for the village of Semenovskoye and the Raevsky battery, the French were unable to break the resistance of the Russians. At 2 p.m., Napoleon launched a general assault on Kurgan Heights, where Raevsky’s battery was located. By this time, he was convinced that the entire Russian army had already been brought into battle, and now he intended to break through the Russian defenses here. Troops A.I. Osterman-Tolstoy, P.G. Likhacheva, P.M. Paskevich held back the French advance. The general leadership of the troops here was carried out by Barclay de Tolly, who was able to organize the defense very competently. As a result, the first two assaults were unsuccessful. The third attack was led by a general O. Caulaincourt, who was able to knock out the Russians and take possession of the batteries, but was himself killed on the parapet.

Hood. Peter von Hess
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But the battle did not end with the loss of the Russian central defensive position. From Raevsky's battery, the Russian infantry retreated beyond the Goretsky ravine. Barclay de Tolly stopped about a kilometer from Kurgan Heights and restored order among the troops.

By 4 p.m., the French had captured all the key points of the Russian defense from Kurgan Heights to the village of Semenovskoye, but the battle still continued. One of the participants in the Battle of Borodino exclaimed in bewilderment: “Will there be an end to this battle?” Napoleon himself appeared on Kurgan Heights at about five o'clock in the afternoon and began to survey the battlefield. Russian troops were pushed back about 3 kilometers and took up defensive positions along the Gorki-Psarevo line. On the right flank, the French did not achieve any results at all; the Russian troops, as they stood in the morning across the Koloch River, stood so now. He failed to break through the Russian position either on the left flank or in the center; the Russians only retreated from one defensive line to another. Napoleon still had an untouched selected reserve in reserve - the imperial guard. The marshals asked the French emperor to throw her into battle, but Napoleon never dared to do so.

The firefight continued until late in the evening, but the French made no further major attacks. Seeing that Napoleon had stopped his attacks, Kutuzov withdrew from his positions late in the evening and continued his retreat to Moscow.

Fragment of the Borodino panorama, Fr. Roubaud, 1912
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Thus ended the day of August 26 (September 7), one of the bloodiest days of the Napoleonic Wars era.

For the battle site, it was necessary to choose a position that would satisfy Kutuzov’s basic requirements. The field had to accommodate the main forces of the army, be able to build them in deep order, allow the troops to maneuver, and have natural obstacles for better defense. In addition, the army should have been able to block the New and Old Smolensk roads leading to Moscow. Quartermaster General Tol discovered this position in front of the city of Mozhaisk. In the center of the field stood the village of Borodino, from which the battle received its name.

The number of armies and the location of Russian troops

The Russian army (the combined 1st and 2nd Western armies of Barclay de Tolly and Bagration) consisted of about 120 thousand people: 103 thousand regular troops, about 7-8 thousand Cossack and other irregular cavalry, 10 thousand. warriors mainly of the Moscow and Smolensk militias (according to other sources, about 20 thousand militias) and 624 field artillery guns. It is also necessary to take into account that the regular troops included about 15 thousand recruits who underwent only initial military training.

On the day of the battle, the “Grand Army” of the French emperor numbered about 135-136 thousand soldiers with 587 field artillery pieces. In addition, the French army had approximately 15 thousand auxiliary forces (non-combatants), whose combat capability and functions corresponded to the Russian militias. The number of armies opposing each other still causes debate among researchers. The French army had not only a numerical superiority, but also a qualitative one - the French infantry mainly consisted of experienced soldiers, Napoleon had superiority in heavy cavalry. However, these advantages were balanced by the Russian fighting spirit and the high morale of the army.

The position of the Russian army on the Borodino field was about 8 kilometers long. In the south it began near the village of Utitsa, and in the north - near the village of Maslovo. The right flank, approximately 5 km long, ran along the bank of the Koloch River and well covered the New Smolensk Road. In the event of an unfavorable outcome of the battle, Mikhail Kutuzov could only withdraw his troops along this road. Here the Russian position was protected from the flank by a dense forest, which excluded the enemy’s outflanking maneuver. In addition, the terrain here was hilly, intersected by rivers and streams. Natural obstacles were reinforced by a number of fortifications: Maslovsky flashes, gun positions, abatis.

The position on the left flank was more open, so there were more field fortifications here. Semenovsky (Bagrationovsky) flushes were built on the left flank. The Shevardinsky redoubt was located ahead of them. However, the fortifications were not completed at the start of the battle. The center of the Russian army's position was based on the Raevsky Battery (battery of the Kurgan Heights), the French called it the Great Redoubt.

The battle formation of the Russian army was composed of three lines: the first contained infantry corps, the second - cavalry, and the third - reserves. The army's artillery was evenly distributed throughout the position.

On August 24, the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt took place. During it, it became clear that the enemy was going to deliver the main blow to the left flank of the Russian troops, which was defended by the 2nd Army under the command of Bagration. On August 25 there was a lull, both sides were preparing for the decisive battle, and the construction of defensive structures continued. According to ancient tradition, the Russian army prepared for a decisive battle as if it were a holiday. The soldiers washed, shaved, put on clean linen, confessed, etc. Napoleon Bonaparte personally reconnoitered the positions of the Russian army.

Start of battle (5:30–9:00)

At 5:30 am, about 100 French guns opened fire on the positions of the Russian left flank. Simultaneously with the shelling of Russian positions, Delzon's division from the 4th Corps of Beauharnais moved to the village of Borodino (the center of the Russian position). The first to meet the onslaught of the enemy was His Majesty's Life Guards Jaeger Regiment under the command of one of the bravest regimental commanders, Karl Bistrom. For about half an hour, the guards repelled the onslaught of superior enemy forces (the regiment lost more than a third of its strength). Then, under the threat of being outflanked, they were forced to retreat across the Kolocha River. One of the French regiments also crossed the river. Barclay de Tolly threw three regiments of chasseurs into battle. The rangers overthrew the French (the French 106th regiment was almost completely destroyed) and burned the bridge across the river. The battle ended by 8 o'clock in the morning, the French retained the village of Borodino, but they were unable to cross the Koloch River.

The main action took place on Bagration's flushes. Flashes were called field fortifications, which consisted of two faces, each 20-30 m long, at an acute angle, the corner with its apex facing the enemy. They were defended by the 2nd Combined Grenadier Division of General Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. Each flush was defended by one battalion. The French, after an artillery bombardment, attacked the fléches. The divisions of Generals Dessay and Compan from the 1st Corps of Davout went on the offensive. From the very beginning the battle became fierce and stubborn. It is still unknown exactly how many enemy attacks followed the Semenov flushes. The fortifications changed hands several times. Napoleon unleashed the main blow on the left flank, trying from the very beginning of the battle to turn the tide in his favor. The battle was accompanied by an artillery duel, in which dozens of guns took part (the French were constantly increasing the number of guns in this direction). In addition, several large clashes of cavalry formations occurred on the left flank. The Russian cavalry was not inferior to the enemy, and the “Great Army” lost up to half of its cavalry on the Borodino field. Subsequently, Napoleon was never able to restore the strength of his cavalry.

In the first attack, the French infantry overcame the resistance of the rangers and made their way through the Utitsky forest. However, when the divisions of generals Dessay and Compan began to line up on the edge opposite the southernmost flush, they came under heavy fire from Russian artillery and were overturned by a flank counterattack by Vorontsov's rangers. At 8 o'clock the French launched a second attack and captured the southern flush. The commander of the 2nd Army, Bagration, sent the 27th Infantry Division of General Dmitry Petrovich Neverovsky, as well as the Akhtyrsky Hussar and Novorossiysk Dragoon Regiments to help Vorontsov’s division to strike the enemy’s flank. The French were driven out of their fortifications and suffered heavy losses. So, Marshal Davout was shell-shocked, both division commanders - Dessay and Compana - and almost all the brigade commanders were wounded. Russian troops also suffered severe losses: Vorontsov’s combined grenadier division practically ceased to exist, with only about 300 people left in it. Vorontsov himself was wounded in the leg when he led the last battalion of the division in a bayonet attack.

Battle of Borodino (9:00–12:30)

Napoleon intensified the pressure on the left flank: three infantry divisions of Ney’s 3rd Corps and three of Murat’s cavalry corps launched a third attack. The number of artillery barrels in this direction was increased to 160 units.

Bagration expected an enemy attack and ordered the commander of the 7th Infantry Corps, Raevsky (he was defending the central position), to immediately advance the entire second line of his troops to the flushes. He also instructed the commander of the 3rd Infantry Corps, Tuchkov, to immediately send the 3rd Infantry Division of General Pyotr Petrovich Konovnitsyn to the Semenovsky flashes. In addition, at the request of Bagration, Kutuzov sent the reserve Life Guards Lithuanian and Izmailovsky regiments, the 1st Combined Grenadier Division, the regiments of the 3rd Cavalry Corps and the 1st Cuirassier Division to the left flank. At the same time, the 2nd Infantry Corps of Baggovut from the 1st Army began to move from the right flank to the left.

The French, after a heavy artillery bombardment, broke into the southern flush. During this battle, General Neverovsky was wounded. The 2nd Cuirassier Division from Borozdin's 8th Corps overthrew the enemy formations. Moreover, the Russian cavalrymen almost captured the king of the Kingdom of Naples and the commander of the French cavalry, Joachim Murat; he was saved by the infantry. However, in a fierce battle, the French were able to defend the captured fortifications.

The situation was corrected by the attack of Konovnitsyn’s division; he arrived at the flushes at 10 o’clock and knocked out the enemy with a bayonet strike. During this battle, brigade commander Alexander Alekseevich Tuchkov 4th died. He led the attack of the Revel and Murom regiments and was mortally wounded in the chest (they could not take him out of the battlefield and bury him). After Bagration was wounded, Konovnitsyn led the defense of the left flank; the general, while repelling enemy attacks, was wounded twice, but did not abandon his soldiers.

Around the same time, Junot’s 8th Corps passed through the Utitsky forest to the rear of the Semenovsky flushes. The situation was saved by the 1st cavalry battery of Captain Zakharov, which at that time was moving towards the flushes. Having discovered the enemy, Zakharov deployed his guns and opened fire on the Westphalians who were building. The arriving regiments of Baggovut's 2nd Corps struck with bayonets and overthrew the enemy.

At the 11th hour, Napoleon threw up to 45 thousand bayonets and sabers into a new attack, concentrating up to 400 guns against the Russian left flank. Bagration led his forces - about 20 thousand soldiers - on a counterattack. A brutal hand-to-hand battle ensued, which lasted about an hour. During it, the advantage began to lean in favor of the Russian troops, but Bagration's wound - a cannonball fragment crushed the hero's tibia in his left leg (the hero died of blood poisoning on September 12 (25), 1812) - led to the confusion of the troops and they began to retreat. Konovnitsyn took command. He withdrew the soldiers behind the Semenovsky ravine, the flushes remained with the French. Behind the ravine there were reserve batteries and guards regiments; the French did not dare to attack the new Russian positions on the move. There was a brief lull on the left flank.

Battle for the Kurgan Battery. Napoleon, in order to support the attack on the Semenov flushes and prevent the Russian command from transferring troops from the center to the left flank, gave the order to his left wing to strike the Russian troops at Kurgan Heights and capture it. This position was defended by the 26th Infantry Division of General Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich from the 7th Raevsky Corps. At the beginning of the battle, the battery itself had 18 guns. Units of the 4th Corps of the Viceroy of Italy Eugene Beauharnais went on the offensive. Enemy forces crossed the Koloch River and struck the Great Redoubt.

By this point, Raevsky had sent his entire second line to defend Semenovsky flushes. The first enemy attack was repelled by artillery fire. Beauharnais almost immediately launched a second attack. Kutuzov brought into battle the entire horse artillery reserve of 60 guns and part of the light artillery of the 1st Army. However, the enemy, despite heavy artillery fire, was able to break into Russian positions.

At this time, the chief of staff of the 1st Western Army, Alexey Petrovich Ermolov, and the chief of artillery of the entire army, Alexander Ivanovich Kutaisov, were passing by the height. They organized and led a counterattack by the 3rd battalion of the Ufa Infantry Regiment and the 18th Jaeger Regiment. At the same time, the regiments of Paskevich and Vasilchikov hit the enemy flanks. Russian soldiers recaptured the redoubt with a bayonet attack, and the enemy suffered heavy losses. Brigadier General Bonamy was captured. During the battle, Kutaisov died. Ermolov led the defense of the battery until he was shell-shocked, then he handed over command to General Pyotr Gavrilovich Likhachev. Paskevich's division was almost completely destroyed, Raevsky's corps was taken to the rear and replaced by Likhachev's 24th Infantry Division.

Battle for the Utitsky Kurgan. In the very south of the Russian position, the 5th Corps (Polish) of General Poniatowski moved around the left flank of the Russian position and at about 8 o'clock in the morning near the village of Utitsa collided with the 3rd Infantry Corps of General N.A. Tuchkov 1st. At this moment, Tuchkov had already sent Konovnitsyn’s 3rd Infantry Division to Bagration’s disposal and had only one division – the 1st Grenadier Division. The enemy pushed Tuchkov's soldiers out of Utitsa. Russian soldiers retreated to the Utitsky Kurgan. All attempts by the Poles to move forward and capture the mound were repulsed. However, at about 11 o'clock Poniatowski, having received the support of Junot's 8th Corps, was able to capture the Utitsky Kurgan. Tuchkov personally led the counterattack of the Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment and recaptured the position. But in this attack the brave commander received a mortal wound. He was replaced by Baggovut. He left the position only around one o'clock in the afternoon, when it became known about the fall of Semenov flushes.

At about 12 noon, Kutuzov and Napoleon regrouped their troops on the battlefield. Kutuzov sent reinforcements to the defenders of Kurgan Heights and strengthened the left flank, where units of the 2nd Army retreated beyond the Semenovsky ravine.

Raid of the Cossacks Platov and Uvarov. At about 13 o'clock in the afternoon, the 4th Corps (Italian) of Eugene Beauharnais resumed the attack on Raevsky's battery. Napoleon, after capturing the Semenov flushes, abandoned the plan to develop an offensive against the left wing of the Russian army. The initial plan of defeating the left Russian flank and reaching the rear of the main Russian forces lost its meaning, since his strike force suffered huge losses, and the Russian defense on the left flank, despite the loss of Semenov’s flushes, remained undefeated. The French emperor decided to shift his focus to the center of the Russian position and capture Kurgan Heights. However, a new attack by French troops on the Kurgan Battery was delayed for two hours, because at that time the Russian cavalry and Cossacks entered the French rear.

Kutuzov, at the critical moment of the loss of the Semenov flashes and the difficult situation in the center of Russian positions, decided on a roundabout raid of the 1st Cavalry Corps of General Fyodor Petrovich Uvarov (about 2.5 thousand sabers with 12 guns) and the Cossack corps of Matvey Ivanovich Platov (8 regiments). The Russian cavalry was supposed to attack the positions of the enemy left wing, where the Italian soldiers were stationed.

The Russian cavalry crossed the Kolocha River near the village of Malaya and attacked French infantry and Italian cavalry in the area of ​​the crossing of the Voyna River near the village of Bezzubovo. The actions of the forces of Uvarov and Platov caused confusion in the enemy camp and forced Napoleon to detach part of the Beauharnais corps (Italian Guard) and the cavalry corps of Grouchy to repel the threat. In addition, Napoleon was careful not to introduce the guard into the battle.

Researchers still argue about the effectiveness of the Russian cavalry raid. Some historians believe that Uvarov and Platov could have done more, but acted hesitantly. However, one cannot deny the fact that this attack delayed the enemy’s decisive blow for two hours and allowed the Russian troops to regroup - Kutuzov strengthened the center and left flank.

Battle of Borodino (14:00-18:00)

Fall of Raevsky's battery. After repelling the Russian cavalry raid, the French artillerymen opened crossfire from the front and flashes of 150 guns at the Kurgan Battery, and then went on the attack. Raevsky’s battery became, as the participants in the battle put it, a real “volcano” of the Battle of Borodino. It should be noted that the artillery cannonade throughout the battlefield did not subside until the night and claimed the lives of thousands of people.

To attack the 24th Infantry Division P. G. Likhachev, 34 cavalry regiments were concentrated under the command of Murat. At about 15 o'clock in the afternoon, the king of the Kingdom of Naples gave the order to attack the Russians with his entire mass at the Great Redoubt. At the same time, the infantry of Beauharnais went on the offensive. The first to enter the battle was the 2nd Cavalry Corps under the command of the head of Napoleon's main quarters, Auguste de Caulaincourt (the corps commander Louis-Pierre de Montbrun died during the battle for the Semyonovsky flushes). Caulaincourt's cuirassiers broke through the hellish fire, went around Kurgan Heights on the left and rushed to Raevsky's battery. The French cavalrymen were met with fierce fire from the defenders. The cavalry of Barclay de Tolly's 1st Army struck the enemy cavalry, and a fierce clash of cavalry masses took place under the heights. The enemy cuirassiers were driven back with significant losses (the French called Raevsky's Kurgan Battery "the grave of the French cavalry"). The leader of the French vanguard, the brave General Auguste Caulaincourt, like many of his comrades during the Battle of Borodino, found death on the slopes of the mound. It must be remembered that the battles during the Battle of Borodino were very fierce; neither the Russians nor the French wanted to retreat, both sides fought like heroes. Thus, Raevsky’s 7th Infantry Corps had about 10 thousand soldiers at the beginning of the battle, and after the battle the general could muster “barely 700 people.”

French attack on the Raevsky battery and the death of General Caulaincourt. September 7. Hood. A. Adam. Mid-19th century Lithography.

At a time when the French cavalry pinned down the forces of the 24th division and the Russian cavalry, the infantry of General Beauharnais broke into the Raevsky battery. After a bloody battle, the position was captured by the enemy (this event occurred at 4 o'clock). General Likhachev, not wanting to be captured, rushed at the French soldiers, but the general's insignia saved him. He was stunned and captured (the only Russian general that day).

The fall of the Kurgan Battery did not break the defense of the center of the Russian army. Russian troops retreated to new positions. At 5 p.m., Napoleon Bonaparte went to the captured battery and came to the conclusion that its center of the Russian army, despite the withdrawal of Russian troops and contrary to the assurances of his retinue, was not shaken and was completely combat-ready. There was no decisive turning point in the battle, so Napoleon refused to bring his last reserve, the guard, into battle. After this, the advance of the French troops on the center of the Russian army stopped, the matter was limited to an artillery firefight.

Left flank. The direction of the main attack of the “Great Army” shifted from the left flank to the center of the Russian line, to the Kurgan Battery. However, the enemy did not stop attacking the left flank of the Russian army. After a short break associated with the regrouping of forces, the enemy tried to break through the Semenovsky ravine. To the south of the village of Semyonovskoye the 1st Cavalry Corps of Nansouty was advancing, to the north of the 4th Cavalry Corps of Latour-Maubourg, while the 2nd Infantry Division of General Friant (from the 1st Infantry Corps of Davout) moved from the front to Semyonovskoye.

The Russian left flank at that time was headed by the commander of the 6th Infantry Corps, General Dmitry Sergeevich Dokhturov. He put the upset troops in order and secured a new position. The guards units, which were allocated by Kutuzov to support the left flank, were lined up in a square and successfully repelled the onslaught of enemy cavalry. The 1st Cuirassier Brigade of General N.V. Kretov (from the 2nd Cuirassier Division) came to the aid of the 2nd Brigade of Colonel M.E. Khrapovitsky (Life Guards Izmailovsky and Lithuanian Regiments). The military order cuirassier and Ekaterinoslav cuirassier regiments overthrew the French cavalry. After this battle, the French cavalrymen attacked several more times, but each time their onslaught was repulsed.

The 2nd Infantry Division of Louis Friant takes the village of Semenovskoye with a bayonet attack. However, Russian troops launch a counterattack and recapture the village. The stubborn French general, not wanting to accept failure, again leads his regiments into the attack and is wounded in the chest. His soldiers, after a fierce battle, recapture Semyonovskoye. Friant receives another wound - in the leg and gives up command.

After 16 hours, the French cavalry again tried to launch an offensive on the left flank from the village of Semenovskoye. However, the French ran into the columns of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Finland regiments. The Russian guards, with the beating of drums, launched a bayonet attack and overthrew the enemy troops. At 19:00 in the evening the rifle fire on the left flank subsided. French troops were unable to solve the problem of defeating Russian troops on the left flank.

Completion of the battle and its results

The last battles of the Borodino battle in the evening took place at the battery of the Raevsky and Utitsky mounds. But the Russian troops successfully held their positions and more than once launched decisive counterattacks. The French Emperor Napoleon did not dare to send his last reserves into battle - parts of the Old and Young Guards, in order to try to turn the tide of the battle in favor of the French army at the end of the day. By 6 pm the attacks had stopped along the entire front. Until nightfall, only artillery fire and rifle fire continued in the advanced Jaeger chains.

The Russian army retreated to Gorki and began to prepare for a new battle. However, Kutuzov, when he received more complete data on the army’s losses, decided to withdraw his troops beyond Mozhaisk. At 12 o'clock at night, the troops received an order from the commander-in-chief, who canceled preparations for a new battle. The withdrawal was carried out in an organized manner, in marching columns, under the cover of the rearguard.

Napoleon was in a depressed and anxious mood, he expected that the battle would continue the next day. During the battle, the “Great Army” was able to force the Russian troops on the left flank and center to retreat only 1–1.5 km. The Russian army maintained the integrity of the position and its communications, repelled many French attacks, and itself counterattacked. The artillery duel, for all its duration and fierceness (no ammunition was spared), did not give advantages to either the French or the Russians. French troops captured the main strongholds of the Russian army - the Raevsky battery and the Semyonov flushes. But the fortifications on them were almost completely destroyed, and by the end of the battle Napoleon ordered them to be abandoned and the troops to be withdrawn to their original positions. Few prisoners were captured (as well as guns); Russian soldiers took with them most of their wounded comrades. With the onset of darkness, the Cossacks occupied the dominant heights on the battlefield. Napoleon learned about the departure of the Russian army only in the morning.

In the Battle of Borodino, both armies suffered huge losses. The exact number of losses is unknown at the present time; historians continue to debate about them to this day. On August 24-26, the Russian army lost approximately 38-50 thousand people (especially large losses were from enemy artillery fire). Napoleon's army lost about 35 thousand people, the French cavalry suffered especially - the Borodino field became the “cemetery of the French cavalry.” The fury of the battle is also indicated by the data on losses in the senior command of the two armies. In the “battle of the generals,” 4 Russian generals died or were mortally wounded, 23 were wounded and shell-shocked. The French lost 12 generals killed or died from wounds, another 38 generals and 1 marshal (Davout) were wounded.

The main strategic result of the Battle of Borodino was the fact that Napoleon received the long-desired general battle, but, having made every effort to win, he could not defeat the Russian army and force the Russian military-political leadership to ask for peace. The Grand Army made great efforts to achieve victory, but they proved fruitless. Kutuzov fulfilled the army's desire to give battle to the enemy, but was unable to defend Moscow. Both armies showed the highest courage and heroism in this battle.

In tactical terms, the Battle of Borodino was another victory for Napoleon - he forced the Russian army to retreat and give up Moscow. However, in strategic terms, it was a victory for Kutuzov and the Russian army. A radical change occurred in the campaign of 1812. The Russian army survived the battle with the strongest enemy and its fighting spirit only grew stronger. Soon its numbers and material resources will be restored. Napoleon's army lost heart, lost the ability to win, the aura of invincibility. Further events will only confirm the correctness of the words of the military theorist Carl Clausewitz, who noted that “victory lies not simply in capturing the battlefield, but in the physical and moral defeat of the enemy forces.”

The main battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 between the Russian army under the command of General M.I. Kutuzov and the French army of Napoleon I Bonaparte took place on August 26 (September 7) near the village of Borodino near Mozhaisk, 125 km west of Moscow.

It is considered the bloodiest one-day battle in history.

About 300 thousand people with 1,200 artillery pieces took part in this grandiose battle on both sides. At the same time, the French army had a significant numerical superiority - 130-135 thousand people against 103 thousand people in the Russian regular troops.

Prehistory

“In five years I will be the master of the world. There is only Russia left, but I will crush it.”- with these words, Napoleon and his 600,000-strong army crossed the Russian border.

Since the beginning of the invasion of the French army into the territory of the Russian Empire in June 1812, Russian troops have been constantly retreating. The rapid advance and overwhelming numerical superiority of the French made it impossible for the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, General of Infantry Barclay de Tolly, to prepare troops for battle. The prolonged retreat caused public discontent, so Emperor Alexander I dismissed Barclay de Tolly and appointed Infantry General Kutuzov as commander-in-chief.

However, the new commander-in-chief chose the path of retreat. The strategy chosen by Kutuzov was based, on the one hand, on exhausting the enemy, on the other, on waiting for reinforcements sufficient for a decisive battle with Napoleon’s army.

On August 22 (September 3), the Russian army, retreating from Smolensk, settled down near the village of Borodino, 125 km from Moscow, where Kutuzov decided to give a general battle; it was impossible to postpone it further, since Emperor Alexander demanded that Kutuzov stop the advance of Emperor Napoleon towards Moscow.

The idea of ​​the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Kutuzov, was to inflict as many losses as possible on the French troops through active defense, change the balance of forces, preserve Russian troops for further battles and for the complete defeat of the French army. In accordance with this plan, the battle formation of the Russian troops was built.

The battle formation of the Russian army was composed of three lines: the first contained infantry corps, the second - cavalry, and the third - reserves. The army's artillery was evenly distributed throughout the position.

The position of the Russian army on the Borodino field was about 8 km long and looked like a straight line running from the Shevardinsky redoubt on the left flank through the large battery on Red Hill, later called the Raevsky battery, the village of Borodino in the center, to the village of Maslovo on the right flank.

The right flank formed 1st Army of General Barclay de Tolly consisting of 3 infantry, 3 cavalry corps and reserves (76 thousand people, 480 guns), the front of his position was covered by the Kolocha River. The left flank was formed by a smaller number 2nd Army of General Bagration (34 thousand people, 156 guns). In addition, the left flank did not have such strong natural obstacles in front of the front as the right. The center (the height near the village of Gorki and the space up to the Raevsky battery) was occupied by the VI Infantry and III Cavalry Corps under the general command Dokhturova. A total of 13,600 men and 86 guns.

Shevardinsky battle

The prologue to the Battle of Borodino was battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt on August 24 (September 5).

Here the day before a pentagonal redoubt had been erected, which initially served as part of the position of the Russian left flank, and after the left flank was pushed back, it became a separate forward position. Napoleon ordered an attack on the Shevardin position - the redoubt prevented the French army from turning around.

To gain time for engineering work, Kutuzov ordered the enemy to be detained near the village of Shevardino.

The redoubt and the approaches to it were defended by the legendary 27th Neverovsky Division. Shevardino was defended by Russian troops consisting of 8,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry with 36 guns.

French infantry and cavalry totaling over 40,000 people attacked the defenders of Shevardin.

On the morning of August 24, when the Russian position on the left was not yet equipped, the French approached it. Before the French advanced units had time to approach the village of Valuevo, Russian rangers opened fire on them.

A fierce battle broke out near the village of Shevardino. During it, it became clear that the enemy was going to deliver the main blow to the left flank of the Russian troops, which was defended by the 2nd Army under the command of Bagration.

During the stubborn battle, the Shevardinsky redoubt was almost completely destroyed.

Napoleon's Grand Army lost about 5,000 people in the Battle of Shevardin, and the Russian army suffered approximately the same losses.

The Battle of the Shevardinsky Redoubt delayed the French troops and gave the Russian troops the opportunity to gain time to complete defensive work and build fortifications on the main positions. The Shevardino battle also made it possible to clarify the grouping of forces of the French troops and the direction of their main attack.

It was established that the main enemy forces were concentrating in the Shevardin area against the center and left flank of the Russian army. On the same day, Kutuzov sent Tuchkov’s 3rd Corps to the left flank, secretly positioning it in the Utitsa area. And in the area of ​​the Bagration flushes, a reliable defense was created. The 2nd Free Grenadier Division of General M. S. Vorontsov occupied the fortifications directly, and the 27th Infantry Division of General D. P. Neverovsky stood in the second line behind the fortifications.

Battle of Borodino

On the eve of the great battle

August 25 There were no active hostilities in the Borodino field area. Both armies were preparing for a decisive, general battle, conducting reconnaissance and building field fortifications. On a small hill to the southwest of the village of Semenovskoye, three fortifications were built, called “Bagration’s flushes”.

According to ancient tradition, the Russian army prepared for a decisive battle as if it were a holiday. The soldiers washed, shaved, put on clean linen, confessed, etc.

Emperor Napoleon Bonoparte on August 25 (September 6) personally reconnoitred the area of ​​the future battle and, having discovered the weakness of the left flank of the Russian army, decided to strike the main blow against it. Accordingly, he developed a battle plan. First of all, the task was to capture the left bank of the Kolocha River, for which it was necessary to capture Borodino. This maneuver, according to Napoleon, was supposed to divert the attention of the Russians from the direction of the main attack. Then transfer the main forces of the French army to the right bank of the Kolocha and, relying on Borodino, which has become like an axis of approach, push Kutuzov’s army with the right wing into the corner formed by the confluence of the Kolocha with the Moscow River and destroy it.

To accomplish the task, Napoleon began to concentrate his main forces (up to 95 thousand) in the area of ​​the Shevardinsky redoubt on the evening of August 25 (September 6). The total number of French troops in front of the 2nd Army front reached 115 thousand.

Thus, Napoleon's plan pursued the decisive goal of destroying the entire Russian army in a general battle. Napoleon had no doubt about victory, the confidence of which he expressed in words at sunrise on August 26 """This is the sun of Austerlitz""!"

On the eve of the battle, Napoleon's famous order was read to the French soldiers: “Warriors! This is the battle you so desired. Victory depends on you. We need it; she will give us everything we need, comfortable apartments and a quick return to our homeland. Act as you acted at Austerlitz, Friedland, Vitebsk and Smolensk. May later posterity proudly remember your exploits to this day. Let it be said about each of you: he was in the great battle near Moscow!”

The Great Battle Begins

M.I. Kutuzov at the command post on the day of the Battle of Borodino

The Battle of Borodino began at 5 a.m., on the day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, on the day when Russia celebrates the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395.

The decisive battles took place over Bagration's flushes and Raevsky's battery, which the French managed to capture at the cost of heavy losses.

Battle scheme

Bagration's flushes

At 5:30 am on August 26 (September 7), 1812 More than 100 French guns began shelling the positions of the left flank. Napoleon unleashed the main blow on the left flank, trying from the very beginning of the battle to turn the tide in his favor.

At 6 o'clock in the morning after a short cannonade, the French began an attack on Bagration's flushes ( flushes called field fortifications, which consisted of two faces 20-30 m long each at an acute angle, the corner with its apex facing the enemy). But they came under grapeshot fire and were driven back by a flank attack by the rangers.

Averyanov. Battle for Bagration's flushes

At 8 o'clock in the morning The French repeated the attack and captured the southern flush.
For the 3rd attack, Napoleon strengthened the attacking forces with 3 more infantry divisions, 3 cavalry corps (up to 35,000 people) and artillery, bringing its number to 160 guns. They were opposed by about 20,000 Russian troops with 108 guns.

Evgeny Korneev. His Majesty's Cuirassiers. Battle of the brigade of Major General N. M. Borozdin

After strong artillery preparation, the French managed to break into the southern flush and into the gaps between the flushes. Around 10 o'clock in the morning the flushes were captured by the French.

Then Bagration led a general counterattack, as a result of which the flushes were repulsed and the French were thrown back to their original line.

By 10 o'clock in the morning the entire field above Borodino was already covered with thick smoke.

IN 11 o'clock in the morning Napoleon threw about 45 thousand infantry and cavalry, and almost 400 guns into the new 4th attack against the flushes. The Russian troops had about 300 guns, and were 2 times inferior in number to the enemy. As a result of this attack, the 2nd Combined Grenadier Division of M.S. Vorontsov, which took part in the Battle of Shevardin and withstood the 3rd attack on the flushes, retained about 300 people out of 4,000.

Then within an hour there were 3 more attacks from French troops, which were repulsed.

At 12 noon , during the 8th attack, Bagration, seeing that the artillery of the flushes could not stop the movement of the French columns, led a general counterattack of the left wing, the total number of troops of which was approximately only 20 thousand people against 40 thousand from the enemy. A brutal hand-to-hand battle ensued, which lasted about an hour. During this time, the masses of French troops were thrown back to the Utitsky forest and were on the verge of defeat. The advantage leaned towards the side of the Russian troops, but during the transition to a counterattack, Bagration, wounded by a fragment of a cannonball in the thigh, fell from his horse and was taken from the battlefield. The news of Bagration's injury instantly spread through the ranks of the Russian troops and undermined the morale of the Russian soldiers. Russian troops began to retreat. ( Note Bagration died of blood poisoning on September 12 (25), 1812)

After this, General D.S. took command of the left flank. Dokhturov. The French troops were bled dry and unable to attack. The Russian troops were greatly weakened, but they retained their combat effectiveness, which was revealed during the repulsion of an attack by fresh French forces on Semenovskoye.

In total, about 60,000 French troops took part in the battles for the flushes, of which about 30,000 were lost, about half in the 8th attack.

The French fought fiercely in the battles for the flushes, but all their attacks, except the last one, were repelled by the significantly smaller Russian forces. By concentrating forces on the right flank, Napoleon ensured a 2-3-fold numerical superiority in the battles for flushes, thanks to which, and also due to the wounding of Bagration, the French still managed to push the left wing of the Russian army to a distance of about 1 km. This success did not lead to the decisive result that Napoleon had hoped for.

The direction of the main attack of the “Great Army” shifted from the left flank to the center of the Russian line, to the Kurgan Battery.

Battery Raevsky

The last battles of the Borodino battle in the evening took place at the battery of the Raevsky and Utitsky mounds.

The high mound, located in the center of the Russian position, dominated the surrounding area. A battery was installed on it, which at the beginning of the battle had 18 guns. The defense of the battery was entrusted to the 7th Infantry Corps under Lieutenant General N.N. Raevsky, consisting of 11 thousand bayonets.

At about 9 o'clock in the morning, in the midst of the battle for Bagration's flushes, the French launched their first attack on Raevsky's battery.A bloody battle took place at the battery.

The losses on both sides were enormous. A number of units on both sides lost most of their personnel. General Raevsky's corps lost over 6 thousand people. And, for example, the French infantry regiment Bonamy retained 300 out of 4,100 people in its ranks after the battle for Raevsky’s battery. For these losses, Raevsky’s battery received the nickname “the grave of the French cavalry” from the French. At the cost of huge losses (the commander of the French cavalry, the general and his comrades fell at Kurgan Heights), French troops stormed Raevsky's battery at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

However, the capture of Kurgan Heights did not lead to a decrease in the stability of the Russian center. The same applies to flushes, which were only defensive structures of the position of the left flank of the Russian army.

End of the battle

Vereshchagin. The end of the Battle of Borodino

After the French troops occupied the Raevsky battery, the battle began to subside. On the left flank, the French carried out ineffective attacks against Dokhturov's 2nd Army. In the center and on the right flank, matters were limited to artillery fire until 7 p.m.

V.V. Vereshchagina. The end of the Battle of Borodino

On the evening of August 26, at 18 o'clock, the Battle of Borodino ended. The attacks stopped along the entire front. Until nightfall, only artillery fire and rifle fire continued in the advanced Jaeger chains.

Results of the Battle of Borodino

What were the results of this bloodiest of battles? Very sad for Napoleon, because there was no victory here, which all those close to him had been waiting in vain for the whole day. Napoleon was disappointed with the results of the battle: the “Great Army” was able to force the Russian troops on the left flank and center to retreat only 1-1.5 km. The Russian army maintained the integrity of the position and its communications, repelled many French attacks, and itself counterattacked. The artillery duel, for all its duration and fierceness, did not give advantages to either the French or the Russians. French troops captured the main strongholds of the Russian army - the Raevsky battery and the Semyonov flushes. But the fortifications on them were almost completely destroyed, and by the end of the battle Napoleon ordered them to be abandoned and the troops to be withdrawn to their original positions. Few prisoners were captured (as well as guns); Russian soldiers took with them most of their wounded comrades. The general battle turned out to be not a new Austerlitz, but a bloody battle with unclear results.

Perhaps, in tactical terms, the Battle of Borodino was another victory for Napoleon - he forced the Russian army to retreat and give up Moscow. However, in strategic terms, it was a victory for Kutuzov and the Russian army. A radical change occurred in the campaign of 1812. The Russian army survived the battle with the strongest enemy and its fighting spirit only grew stronger. Soon its numbers and material resources will be restored. Napoleon's army lost heart, lost the ability to win, the aura of invincibility. Further events will only confirm the correctness of the words of the military theorist Carl Clausewitz, who noted that “victory lies not simply in capturing the battlefield, but in the physical and moral defeat of the enemy forces.”

Later, while in exile, the defeated French Emperor Napoleon admitted: “Of all my battles, the most terrible was the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of winning, and the Russians showed themselves worthy of being called invincible.”

The number of losses of the Russian army in the Battle of Borodino amounted to 44-45 thousand people. The French, according to some estimates, lost about 40-60 thousand people. The losses in the command staff were especially severe: in the Russian army 4 generals were killed and mortally wounded, 23 generals were wounded and shell-shocked; In the Great Army, 12 generals were killed and died of wounds, one marshal and 38 generals were wounded.

The Battle of Borodino is one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century and the bloodiest of all that came before it. Conservative estimates of total casualties indicate that 2,500 people died on the field every hour. It is no coincidence that Napoleon called the Battle of Borodino his greatest battle, although its results were more than modest for a great commander accustomed to victories.

The main achievement of the general battle of Borodino was that Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian army. But first of all, the Borodino field became the cemetery of the French dream, that selfless faith of the French people in the star of their emperor, in his personal genius, which lay at the basis of all the achievements of the French Empire.

On October 3, 1812, the English newspapers The Courier and The Times published a report from the English Ambassador Katkar from St. Petersburg, in which he reported that the armies of His Imperial Majesty Alexander I had won the most stubborn battle of Borodino. During October, The Times wrote about the Battle of Borodino eight times, calling the day of the battle "a grand memorable day in Russian history" and "Bonaparte's fatal battle." The British ambassador and the press did not consider the retreat after the battle and the abandonment of Moscow as a result of the battle, understanding the influence on these events of the unfavorable strategic situation for Russia.

For Borodino, Kutuzov received the rank of field marshal and 100 thousand rubles. The tsar granted Bagration 50 thousand rubles. For participation in the Battle of Borodino, each soldier was given 5 silver rubles.

The significance of the Battle of Borodino in the minds of the Russian people

The Battle of Borodino continues to occupy an important place in the historical consciousness of very broad layers of Russian society. Today, along with similar great pages of Russian history, it is being falsified by the camp of Russophobic-minded figures who position themselves as “historians.” By distorting reality and forgeries in custom-made publications, at any cost, regardless of reality, they are trying to convey to wide circles the idea of ​​a tactical victory for the French with fewer losses and that the Battle of Borodino was not a triumph of Russian weapons.This happens because the Battle of Borodino, as an event in which the strength of the spirit of the Russian people was manifested, is one of the cornerstones that build Russia in the consciousness of modern society as a great power. Throughout the modern history of Russia, Russophobic propaganda has been loosening these bricks.

Material prepared by Sergey Shulyak

History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates Anisimov Evgeniy Viktorovich

August 24-26, 1812 – Battle of Borodino

The Battle of Borodino occupies a special place in our history along with such great battles as the Kulikovo 1380, Poltava 1709 and Stalingrad 1942. The battle took place 110 versts west of Moscow, near the village of Borodino, on August 24-26, 1812. For Kutuzov it became forced, it was a concession to public opinion and sentiment in the army. Everyone considered retreating further to be an immoral act.

The position of the Russian army at Borodin was not entirely successful, but it was not possible to find another one. It was necessary to urgently strengthen the key points of the position (Bagration's flushes and Raevsky's battery). Time for hasty earthworks was gained by the regiments that heroically defended the forward redoubt at Shevardino.

The main battle began on August 26, already with flushes and battery. Napoleon concentrated superior forces here and, despite the fierce resistance of the Russians, by the evening he managed to knock them out of their positions. The French spent the night there. Without waiting for the morning, Kutuzov ordered a retreat. According to the canons of military art of that time, victory, of course, was Napoleon's. After all, the battlefield remained behind him - he occupied all the Russian positions abandoned by their defenders after bloody battles.

But the Russian army, which lost more in the defensive battle than the French - a quarter of its strength, as well as the seriously wounded General Bagration, was still not defeated, and Kutuzov did not ask the enemy for a truce. He decided to retreat only after receiving news of the loss of the main positions and the terrible damage suffered by his troops. A terrible responsibility lay on the shoulders of the old field marshal after the fierce battle on the night of August 26-27. He had to make a choice: give a new battle the next morning and, most likely, destroy the already bloodless army - or retreat and, to his shame, surrender Moscow, which had not been approached by enemies for 200 years. And Kutuzov decided to surrender the capital in order to preserve the army.

In recent years, contrary to the scientifically established belief that Kutuzov was a great commander who won a victory at Borodino (if not factual, then moral), doubts have arisen regarding this conclusion. Firstly, there is plenty of evidence that Kutuzov did not have the initiative on the battlefield. He was so inert that one of the participants in the battle, General N.N. Raevsky, wrote: “No one commanded us.” The initiative was completely in the hands of Napoleon, who dictated the course of the battle. Having fewer forces than Kutuzov, he each time concentrated superior forces on the main directions of attack. Kutuzov, in this situation, did not show the necessary efficiency and foresight and only fought off his attacks, transferring, and even then belatedly, forces from other sectors. The French were superior to the Russians in both maneuverability and the power of artillery fire. Undoubtedly, Napoleon won tactically, won the battle. His army suffered fewer losses (28.1 thousand people versus 45.6 thousand people for the Russians, despite the fact that the French were constantly attacking), and, ultimately, the conqueror achieved the strategic goal he had set for himself - he occupied Moscow, the defense of which was declared by Kutuzov the main goal of the battle.

But, having won the battle, Napoleon still did not defeat the Russian army. After the battle, he did not see the usual disorderly flight of the enemy. Crowds of prisoners did not pass before his eyes (in total, 1 thousand prisoners and 15 guns were captured, the same number of prisoners and 13 guns were captured by the Russians). Dozens of defeated enemy banners did not lie on the ground in front of the French emperor. Undoubtedly, the Russian army survived the most difficult battle. And the reason for this was not the military genius of Kutuzov, but the extraordinary fortitude of the Russian soldier, inspired by a high and sacrificial sense of patriotism, standing for the Tsar, the Orthodox faith and the Fatherland. So, answering the question why they fought so steadfastly near Borodino, one of the soldiers said: “Because, sir, then no one referred or relied on others, but everyone said to himself: “Even though you all run.” I will stand! Even if you all give up, I’ll die, but I won’t give up!’ That’s why everyone stood there and died!”

August 24-26, 1812 - Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino occupies a special place in our history along with such great battles as Kulikovo 1380, Poltava 1709 and Stalingrad 1942. The battle took place 110 versts west of Moscow, near the village of Borodino , 24-26