SMOLENSK TO BORODINO
The battle of Lubino concluded the bloody fighting about Smolensk;
and, though there was practically no pause in the operations, it
marked the term of another stage in the campaign, as poor in results
as the preceding ones. At Vilna the Russians had deliberately refused
to fight, and had withdrawn out of reach. At Vitebsk they had almost
accepted the chance of battle, but then, on better information, had
slipped out of their great opponent’s closing grasp in the nick of
time. At Smolensk it seemed that the desired great battle would at
last be delivered and elusive victory crown the eagles of Napoleon.
Whatever be thought of the wisdom of the Emperor’s manoeuvres, they
had been admirably carried out, and his troops had fought splendidly.
Yet the results of the great effort had been completely negative. The
Russian army had wrought its way out of the great conqueror’s clutches,
and had inflicted decidedly more damage that it had itself received. A
few guns, a few prisoners and a ruined and nearly deserted city--these
constituted the poor reward of so much skill and courage.
It may be regarded as certain that Napoleon had originally intended
to conclude the campaign of 1812 at Smolensk. When he first began to
contemplate a change of plan cannot be determined, but it is possible
that it was at a comparatively early period of the campaign. The
elusive strategy of his opponents cannot but have kept before his
eyes the probability either of being forced to extend the area of
his operations, or of taking up winter-quarters with his self-imposed
task unfinished. Jomini points out that the fact that he did not then
disclose his purpose may merely indicate that he wished to encourage
his weary troops by the prospect of a speedy end of their toils. On
the other hand, it is highly probable that his decision was not formed
until after the battle of Smolensk. The absolutely negative results
of that engagement forced him to consider the necessity of pushing
on to strike a crushing blow. Had he succeeded in disorganising the
main Russian army by a heavy defeat he would probably have stayed his
advance, and devoted the rest of the campaigning season to solidly
organising his communications, and crushing Tormazov and Wittgenstein.
So much for the time at which Napoleon decided to continue his advance.
His reasons fall under three headings--military, political and personal.
Napoleon played many parts on the stage of history, but he was in the
first instance and before everything a soldier. Military reasons may
therefore justly take priority of place. Since crossing the frontier
in June he had kept steadily before him the crushing of the principal
forces of Russia in a great battle. This purpose he had failed to
effect. The Russian armies were yet unbroken, and had suffered,
relatively to their numbers, less heavily than their opponents. They
were retiring upon their resources, and, slow and difficult as was
the organisation of reinforcements, the Russian national spirit was
thoroughly roused, and the vanguard of the new levies was beginning
to reach the fighting line. But for the moment this fighting line was
much weaker than the forces immediately under Napoleon’s command, and
would probably succumb to them in a pitched battle. Were it allowed
to manoeuvre rearwards, and rally and assimilate the new levies which
were being collected and drilled, the chances of Napoleon’s success
would be greatly diminished. His lines of communication were already
troubled by Cossacks, and time would mean the increase of these
vexatious irregulars both in numbers and efficiency, thus compelling
larger detachments and weakening the striking force upon which
everything really depended. It was practically certain that the elusive
Russians would never abandon “White-Walled Moscow” without a battle,
and it was necessary to go forward to seek it while the striking force
was yet strong enough to deal a decisive blow. It would also appear
that the halt on the Düna and Dnieper had permitted the accumulation of
supplies sufficient to subsist the army as far as Moscow, at any rate
with the addition of what might be obtained by foraging.[5] Finally,
the victory of Schwarzenberg at Gorodeczna on August 12th, and that of
St. Cyr over Wittgenstein at Polotsk on the 17th and 18th, appeared to
assure the immediate security of Napoleon’s flanks.
Political reasons also must have weighed much with Napoleon. The
continuance of his empire, as he himself probably understood better
than anyone, depended upon continued military success. His own position
rested almost solely upon the force of his own personality. To remain
for several months, perhaps a year, away from France might lead to his
downfall. Moreover, whatever the dynasts might say or do, Germany was
full of discontent; and in his absence revolt might break out in his
rear. To confess failure by a retreat was not to be contemplated. In
short, there was practically no alternative to an advance.
To the influence exercised by sound military and political argument
must be added that of Napoleon’s personality. He had never yet
experienced failure so far as his own personal enterprises had been
concerned, and exasperated as he was by the lack of success, up to the
present, of the campaign, every prompting of his fierce and impetuous
nature impelled him to go forward.
On the other hand, the Russians--in so far as there was any public
opinion in Russia--were by no means contented with the progress of
the campaign. Alexander, before leaving the army, had issued two
proclamations, one to the people at large, the other to the city of
Moscow, calling upon the nation to make great efforts to expel the
invaders. He then hastened to Moscow, where, on July 27th, an assembly
of nobles and merchants was convoked under the presidency of the
Governor-General, Count Rostopchin. The nobles offered for war a levy
of one man in ten from the population of their estates. The merchants
volunteered a contribution by an assessment upon the capital of each;
and a special subscription opened on the spot realised in an hour
nearly £200,000. In the midst of these enthusiastic proceedings the
Tzar entered the assembly, and ended a speech, in which he set forth
the national peril, by a declaration that he intended to continue the
struggle until the bitter end.
Alexander wisely restricted the new levies to provinces which were
not yet the seat of war. He also decided that a proportion of 2 per
cent. generally, and 1 per cent. in Siberia, would be sufficient.
Men were not lacking, but arms and equipment were deficient, so also
were officers capable of organising and training the new recruits.
The collection of the levies was an operation requiring much time and
trouble: it was even more difficult to realise the money contribution,
part of which was not finally received until the following year. But
considering the vast extent and poverty of the empire the immediate
results were exceedingly creditable. We shall soon have occasion to
note the rapid strengthening of the Russian army.
With all this enthusiasm and patriotic endeavour there was not
unnaturally mingled a good deal of distrust and discontent among the
nobles, who voiced such public opinion as existed. These feelings were
justified to a great extent by the foolishness of the Government,
which reported non-existent military successes, and misrepresented the
operations which were in progress. A certain amount of reliable news,
however, filtered through from the front. It gradually became clear
that, despite the so-called successes of the Russians, the armies were
steadily retreating, and that cities and provinces were being abandoned
to the invader.
The general results of all this was a more or less openly expressed
desire that the conduct of the war should be changed. To a certain
extent it was the outcome of genuine conviction that the command might
be in better hands, but it was also largely the reflection of the
insubordinate discontent among the army officers, which had reached
its height at Smolensk. The outcry was chiefly against Barclay, whose
foreign name was made the platform for every kind of unjust accusation.
It appears to have chiefly been the sentiments of Bagration and his
adherents which made themselves heard in the capital. Barclay had
few friends--Löwenstern says that Konovnitzin was almost the only
general officer attached to him--and had neither leisure nor talents
for defending his reputation against intriguers. Alexander apparently
always trusted and liked him; but on the abandonment of the offensive
early in August the clamour became so loud that he was constrained
to give way, though he angrily declared that he would not assume
responsibility for any evil consequences. He appointed a committee
consisting of Arakcheiev, the Vice-Chancellor Count Kotschubey, and
Prince Lopukhin, to consider the question of a different conduct of the
war. The action was probably merely nominal, for both the remedy and
the man to apply it had been practically agreed upon. The committee
met on the 17th of August. It recommended the appointment of a
commander-in-chief of all the Russian field armies, and for the post
submitted to the Tzar the name of General Prince Golénischev-Kutuzov.
There were practically only two candidates for the onerous position.
One was Kutuzov. The other was Bennigsen, who in his own estimation
was fully equal to the responsibility. Others, however, did not think
so highly of his merits, or of those of his campaign of 1807 against
Napoleon. Alexander knew him as one of his father’s assassins, and
probably distrusted his vain and selfish character. Besides, he was a
foreigner. Kutuzov’s military reputation was estimated as highly as
Bennigsen’s; his laurels were recent; and, above all, he was a native
Russian, popular with the army and believed to be the exponent of the
hard-fighting tactics of far-famed Suvórov.
On the 18th Alexander nominated Kutuzov to the position of
commander-in-chief. Bennigsen was appointed chief-of-staff. The reasons
are somewhat obscure. Clausewitz considers that Bennigsen procured
his appointment in the hopes of succeeding to Kutuzov’s place if, as
seemed not unlikely, the old man’s health should break down. Bennigsen
himself says that, at Vilna, Barclay informed him that Alexander wished
to employ him again. It is possible that Alexander appointed him in
view of such a contingency as Clausewitz suggests; certainly he was
senior to all the generals with the army, so that, in the event of
Kutuzov’s retirement, he would naturally assume the command. He seems
to have regarded himself rather as his chief’s colleague than his
assistant. Kutuzov did not take his appointment very kindly, and the
yoking together of the two veterans, one a Russian noble and the other
a German soldier of fortune, was not a happy expedient.
While at Smolensk, Napoleon regulated his main line of communications,
which was now to run by Vilna, Minsk, Borisov and Orsha, to Smolensk.
Smolensk became the advanced depôt of the army, and Vitebsk being of
only secondary importance, Charpentier was transferred to the former
place with the greater part of his garrison. Winzingerode, however,
was so active in the neighbourhood of Vitebsk that on the 21st
Napoleon detached Pino’s Italian division thither to support Pajol.
The alarm was a false one, for Winzingerode had, as we know, only a
weak detachment of cavalry. On receiving intelligence of the retreat of
the Russian main army he fell back towards Moscow, and Napoleon called
Pino, Pajol and Guyon towards him, but only the cavalry were able to
rejoin in time for the battle of Borodino.
Orders were given to construct bakeries at Smolensk, and to form
magazines and hospitals. The city, however, was little better than a
heap of ruins. Nearly all the inhabitants had fled, and artificers and
materials were lacking to carry out the works ordered by Napoleon. It
is a favourite saying of the Emperor’s apologists that his orders were
neglected. The truth is that they were too frequently impracticable.
The hospitals, choked with some 15,000 sick and wounded, were in a
frightful condition. So great was the dearth of supplies that the
parchment of the city archives and gun-waddings were utilised for
bandages.
Nor was the condition of the army at large satisfactory. Food was for
the moment sufficient; but clothing and equipment were already wearing
out. Nansouty declared that he had never seen cavalry in so wretched
a condition as his own 1st Corps; there were Cuirassiers half naked.
The number of broken-down horses was alarmingly large. Discipline was
worse than ever. Napoleon declared in a moment of depression that
two-thirds of the army were stragglers. There was small prospect of
these evils being remedied. The army, having made an all too brief
halt about Vitebsk and Orsha, and a yet briefer one at Smolensk, was
about to be pushed forward for another 250 miles. Napoleon had, in a
sense, provided for everything; that is, he had issued orders which
anticipated most contingencies. But De Fezensac, himself a soldier of
merit, puts his finger on the weak point of the elaborate arrangements,
and sums up the situation in a single damning paragraph: “Mais il
ne suffit pas de donner des ordres, il faut que ces ordres soient
exécutables; et avec la rapidité des mouvements, la concentration des
troupes sur un même point, le mauvais état des chemins, la difficulté
de nourrir les chevaux, comment aurait-il été possible de faire des
destributions régulières et d’organiser convenablement le service des
hôpitaux?” The army swept the country through which it was moving
clear in a few hours; it became literally and without exaggeration
a wilderness. Stores of every kind were being poured into Vilna and
pushed forward with all diligence to Minsk and Smolensk, but bad
roads, lack of horses and sometimes mismanagement delayed the advance
of the convoys. The main army, for whose benefit they were intended,
was constantly moving forward, and they could never attain it. When on
October 19th, Napoleon turned back from Moscow his nearest considerable
magazine was at Smolensk, and it contained only six or seven days’
supplies.
There was depression and growing discontent among the generals.
Napoleon noticed it and made angry and bitter comments thereupon. Ney
alone seems to have been undaunted. Just after Lubino he wrote to the
Emperor suggesting that an attempt should be made to overtake the
Russians by three or four forced marches.
In the rear also events were far from answering to Napoleon’s
expectations. He complained bitterly that Lithuania did nothing. It
was to some extent true. Lithuania was a poor country; it had been
wasted by the passage across it of the bulk of the _Grande Armée_,
and it could furnish practically no supplies. The levies ordered
by the provisional government existed largely upon paper, and the
troops actually enrolled were of very poor quality. Had Napoleon
frankly re-established the Kingdom of Poland better results might have
been obtained, but it is not very probable. It is impossible, after
reading his minute directions to De Pradt, his agent at Warsaw, and
his ambiguous replies to the Polish deputies who waited upon him at
Vilna, not to perceive that he was deliberately trading upon the hopes
and enthusiasm of the Poles. Moreover, he had on entering Lithuania
committed a blunder by proclaiming liberty to everyone. The serfs
naturally interpreted this as granting permission for plunder and
general licence. The nobles, whom Napoleon should certainly, from the
point of view of his own interests, have conciliated, were alienated,
as were the Jews, who practically monopolised such trade and industry
as existed. At best it can scarcely be said that Lithuania was actively
favourable to Napoleon. It was necessary to garrison the principal
towns and to escort all convoys as if the country had been hostile
instead of nominally friendly. For all practical purposes Napoleon’s
base continued to be on the Niemen and Vistula, and supplies had to be
brought up thence.
On the 20th of August, apparently, Napoleon finally made up his mind
to continue his advance, and on the 21st and 22nd the army was set
in motion. Ney’s shattered corps could no longer fulfil the duties
of support to the advanced guard, and Davout’s took its place. Murat
led the way with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps of Cavalry, and the light
horse of the 1st and 3rd Army Corps. Behind Murat marched the 1st
Corps, with Compans’ division leading; the 3rd and 8th Corps and the
Imperial Guard followed. The 4th Corps formed the left flank-guard; the
5th and Latour-Maubourg’s Corps (less three Polish regiments left on
the Dnieper) that on the right. On the 23rd intelligence arrived that
the Russians had taken up a position for battle near Dorogobuzh, 22
miles east of Solovievo. Eugène and Poniatowski were drawn in towards
the centre and the muster-rolls called. They showed an effective
strength of 147,000 men, of whom 31,000 were cavalry, with nearly 590
guns--exclusive of the head-quarters troops.
On leaving Lubino Barclay had sent forward Toll to look for a
favourable field of battle. While the First Army was marching to
Solovievo, Bagration moved on towards Dorogobuzh. Toll, who was
accompanied by Clausewitz, found a position, which he considered
satisfactory, about 5 miles west of the town, behind the small river
Uzha, which here flowed into the Dnieper from the south. It was open
in front, giving free play to the action of the powerful Russian
artillery, and woods behind afforded cover for reserves. On the right,
however, a hill beyond the Uzha commanded part of the main position,
and thus appeared to Barclay and Bagration, who met to confer, a
cardinal defect. Barclay, whose temper had probably scarcely been
softened by persecution, blamed Toll, and the latter, always gruff to
the verge of rudeness, growled a reply to the effect that he could not
_make_ positions--if they were not to be _found_ that was the fault of
the country. Barclay, recognising that there was reason in the answer,
if little courtesy, refrained from an angry reply; but Bagration was
furious, and his natural generosity impelled him to praise the very man
whom he had recklessly assailed.
“If you cannot choose positions,” he told the luckless young
Quartermaster-General, “that is not to say that others cannot! How
dare you, you unlicked cub, address the commander-in-chief so? He owes
his position to his great qualities, and deserves every consideration.
I am his senior, but I set the example by serving under him. You and
your blue riband! (Toll was a Knight of St. Andrew.) You think that
you honour him by serving under him; but it is the other way about.
It is disgraceful that a young swelled-head like you should hold such
language towards the man on whom depends the fate of the army and the
empire. Thank his generosity that worse does not befall you, for if
I had my way I would change that blue riband for a common soldier’s
belts!”
The threat was by no means an empty one, for a Russian
commander-in-chief had power to degrade officers to the ranks.
Bagration’s words certainly afford food for reflection, seeing his
remarks of a few days since, but it is good to know that one of the
last actions of his honourable life was to endeavour to make some
amends to his ill-used colleague.
The position being deemed unfavourable, Bagration suggested another in
front of Dorogobuzh. Clausewitz describes this--perhaps partly out of
pique--as very bad. It at any rate appears that it was intersected by
the Dnieper, though the river was not here a very formidable obstacle.
The rear-guard, under Platov, consisting of 3 regiments of Hussars, 1
of Lancers, 6 of Chasseurs and some Cossacks, had on the 22nd a brisk
action with Murat, rejoining the main army on the 23rd. On the same
day Napoleon himself left Smolensk, and Eugène and Poniatowski were
called in. Poniatowski’s march to the south of the road indicated an
intention to turn the Russian left; and Bagration counselled a retreat.
It seems obvious that he had at last definitely ranged himself on the
side of Barclay. His example may have served to improve the sense of
subordination among the other generals. It had fallen so low that
Platov personally insulted Barclay a few days after the evacuation of
Smolensk. The position was evacuated in the night of the 23rd-24th and
the retreat continued, the main body retiring to Brazhino on the Moscow
road, Baggohufwudt and Uvarov proceeding level with it on the north
bank of the Dnieper. The rear-guard fell back to Dorogobuzh.
Barclay’s resolution to give battle before Dorogobuzh was bold to the
verge of rashness. His entire strength was probably not more than
107,000 men, of whom 3000 were raw militia-men from the province of
Smolensk, and certainly neither of the positions in advance of the town
was strong enough to compensate for a numerical inferiority of 40,000
men. It almost appears as if he had grown desperate at the persecution
to which he was subjected, and had resolved to stake everything on a
single throw of the dice.
On the 27th the two armies reached Viasma. Napoleon on the same day
was at Slavkovo, about 27 miles westward. There was a rear-guard
fight between Murat and Platov, as the result of which the latter,
to avoid being turned, retired to Semlevo, nearer Viasma. Platov,
being indisposed, was succeeded by Konovnitzin. On the 28th Napoleon
entered Semlevo; and on the 29th Barclay and Bagration reached
Tzarévo-Zaïmichi. On the same day General Miloradovich was at Gzhatsk
with 14,466 infantry and 1123 cavalry--depôt troops, convalescents and
recruits. Barclay and Bagration now decided that with this reserve
force within reach, they might safely stand to fight, and took up a
position. It appears to have been fairly strong in the centre, but,
like most positions in Central Russia, its flanks were exposed. This
weakness the generals proposed to remedy by entrenchments. In the
evening Kutuzov arrived and assumed the supreme command.
Kutuzov decided not to give battle in the Tzarévo-Zaïmichi position.
The decision was a perfectly sensible one. The responsibility was now
his, and he as yet knew nothing of his army. He would naturally desire
to become better acquainted with it, and as it was still some 130 miles
from Moscow he might hope to find a stronger position. Toll and his
staff were sent on ahead, and the army resumed its retreat, Konovnitzin
with a force now augmented to 26 battalions and 72 squadrons
covering the rear.
[Illustration:
GENERAL OF CAVALRY COUNT PLATOV
Ataman of the Don Cossacks]
Meanwhile the French were doggedly following, suffering much from
fatigue and heat, and troubled, as usual, by internal dissensions.
Davout accused Murat, apparently with great justice, of wasting the
cavalry, and exhausting them by useless manoeuvres and lack of proper
care for their subsistence. He said that it wrung his heart--not a
very tender organ--to see the wretched state of the reserve cavalry
divisions, and declared that he would not allow his infantry to be so
over-worked. Matters came to a head on August 28th in an open quarrel
between the two leaders in Napoleon’s presence. Murat retorted to
Davout’s accusation by a counter-charge of over-caution, and declared
that they had better settle their differences by a duel! Napoleon
rather added fuel to the flames, for he insinuated that had Murat been
in Davout’s place in July he might have intercepted Bagration. Davout
was also on bad terms with Berthier. There is no discovering the real
cause of this, but it is certain that Davout’s fierce temper and rough
manners made him many enemies.
The march of the army was toilsome. The wide road was occupied by
the artillery and trains, five or six vehicles abreast, while along
both sides tramped the infantry in heavy columns of companies or
“divisions.” They suffered much from heat, which was aggravated by the
dense clouds of dust raised by the marching columns; and the supply
of water was scanty. Even the Russians occasionally felt the want of
it, and it was naturally worse for the French, who found the wells
drunk dry and the streams trodden into mud. At the same time it does
not appear that the diminution in the ranks owing to these causes was
exceptional, though it was certainly serious. The worst losses were
among the horses, which suffered at once from lack of proper forage and
from thirst. Corn and hay became more and more difficult to procure,
and the rations of the unfortunate animals were made up with rye straw.
The wastage among them was all the more serious because there was
little hope of being able to replace them.
The villages along the route, and the few small towns, were
for the most part deserted by their inhabitants, and in
part at least destroyed. This was not invariably the case.
Dorogobuzh--“Cabbage-town,” as the French soldiers called it from the
cabbage fields amid which it lay--was uninjured, and three months later
still contained some of its inhabitants. Gzhatsk also was uninjured.
Viasma was partly destroyed, owing to fire spreading from a depôt of
flour and spirits which the Russians had fired before retreating.
Otherwise it is difficult to decide whether the destruction of houses
and villages was due to French or Russians. It may be attributed to
both at various times according to circumstances.
The Russians retired eastward through Gzhatsk, covered by their
powerful rear-guard. On September 1 they were about Kolotskoï, a
great monastery about 75 miles from Moscow, the rear-guard being a
day’s march behind. At Kolotskoï Toll and Vistitski II, Bagration’s
Quarter-master-General, recommended a defensive position at Borodino,
a few miles farther on--probably in despair of being able to find
anything better between it and Moscow. Napoleon either learned on the
same day that the Russians had definitely turned to bay, or inferred
that they were about to do so, for he stayed his advance at Gzhatsk
in order to rally his forces for the impending struggle. The musters
for the 2nd of September, including men temporarily detached or
straggling who might rejoin within two or three days, and exclusive of
head-quarter troops, showed nearly 135,000 sabres and bayonets. Two
battalions of the 8th Corps were garrisoning Dorogobuzh and Viasma.
Before the battle Napoleon was rejoined by Pajol’s division and by the
1st and 12th Light Cavalry Brigades--nearly 4000 sabres in all. For
the head-quarters troops 3000 is a conservative estimate.
Napoleon made great efforts at this time to grapple with the disorder
in his rear, and especially to reduce the vast trains of vehicles which
impeded the march. There is abundant evidence that they were out of all
proportion to the strength of the army, and the superfluity consisted
chiefly of private carriages. Napoleon’s efforts produced little
effect. He issued stringent orders, and himself directed the firing of
some vehicles; but Baron Girod tells of at least one instance in which
the fire was extinguished as soon as the Emperor’s back was turned, and
in general the order remained a dead letter.
During the halt there was a good deal of rain, which did not improve
the indifferent roads, but relieved the distress for water. The 4th,
however, was fine, and early in the morning the French army resumed
its advance. The order was as before, but, to Davout’s disgust,
Compans’ division was placed under Murat’s direct orders. A provisional
battalion of the Vistula Legion was left to garrison Gzhatsk.
Konovnitzin made a stand at Gridnevo, about half-way to Borodino,
withdrawing when Murat’s infantry turned his flank, his cavalry
skirmishing steadily with the leading French squadrons. On the 5th he
made another stand at Kolotskoï, and it was not until he saw Eugène’s
corps marching past his right flank that he fell back into the main
army behind the Kolotza.
The Borodino position has often been spoken of as an admirable one
for defence. Clausewitz, who knew it, is of a very different opinion;
and in all probability it was selected simply because there was no
likelihood that anything better would present itself in the endless
plain-lands. It had one grave strategic defect. Some way to the west
the great road forks, the branches uniting again at Mozhaïsk, about 6
miles east of Borodino. It was therefore necessary to hold two roads
instead of one, and to be strong on both. At Borodino they are 2-1/2
miles apart, the new road, on which Borodino stands, lying to the north.
The Kolotza rivulet makes a very acute angle with the new road, running
for a considerable distance nearly parallel with it, always in a gully
with steep banks. After passing Borodino, which lies on its left bank,
it flows north-eastward with a very sinuous course to join the Moskva,
about 2-3/4 miles farther on. The Moskva itself flows south-eastward to
the high-road at the village of Uspenskoïe, three miles from Borodino,
where it turns eastward towards Mozhaïsk.
In the angle formed by the two streams lies a low partly wooded
plateau, its base formed by a rivulet which joins the Kolotza at
Borodino. At its south-western angle stood the hamlet of Gorki, about
a mile from Borodino. A few hundred yards higher up another streamlet
joined the Kolotza from the south-east. This streamlet, called after
the hamlet of Semenovskoï, about a mile and a quarter south of
Borodino, flows in a little ravine, and the ground between it and
the Gorki rivulet forms another low plateau, not more than 30 feet
high, but with a fairly steep western drop. It descends very slightly
towards the east for about a mile, until it is crossed by another brook
flowing in a gully. The eastern bank of this gully is the higher, and
the ground extends eastward in another low plateau on which lies the
village of Tzarévo, a mile and a half east of Semenovskoï. Just west
of Gorki there is a low knoll, and another a mile due south-east of
Gorki, and about 1100 yards north of Semenovskoï. From Semenovskoï to
the old road at the village of Utitza is about a mile and a quarter,
and from the latter village extended northward for about 1000 yards a
thick wood. Three-quarters of a mile east of Utitza is a knoll, and
a little eastward again another low plateau. South of the old road
extended marshy woods, though a little south of Utitza there was a
clearing round the hamlet of Michino. Patches of wood were scattered
over the whole position. The villages were all log-built and useless
for defence. From Utitza by Borodino to the junction of the Kolotza
with the Moskva is a distance of almost 5 miles.
To the west of the Borodino-Utitza line the country is of the same
character, only slightly lower. At the village of Shevardino, a mile
westward from Semenovskoï, is a low knoll. The villages were of so
little consequence that it is superfluous to name them.
It will probably be gathered from this description that the general
position afforded no great advantages to the weaker side. Clausewitz,
indeed, says that in places it was difficult to tell which had the
advantage of the ground. The northern plateau was fairly advantageous
for defence, but the Kolotza ravine in its front prevented the troops
posted on it from making counter-attacks. The old road afforded
opportunities to an enterprising foe of a turning movement. It was
therefore necessary to hold it strongly, but the wood south of
Semenovskoï almost cut the troops about Utitza from the main line
farther north. Bennigsen criticises the whole position most bitterly,
as far too extended, but represents it as being 2 miles longer than
it really was. He was himself an advocate of very narrow positions,
and French critics declared that his line at Eylau was far too close
and heavy. He says in his memoirs that he perfectly understood
that Napoleon’s concentrated attacks could only be repulsed by a
concentration of defence. In principle he was no doubt right, but
the defensive concentration, as Wellington had been teaching an
unappreciative Europe for years, should have been one of effective
muskets, not of crowded columns. Bennigsen was too self-satisfied to
see this; but it is perhaps fair to add that probably the British army
was the only one in Europe sufficiently highly trained to execute
linear tactics. The Russian soldiers were extremely steady and accurate
in manoeuvre, but not rapid, and scarcely highly trained; French
observers criticise their clumsiness. Clausewitz thinks that the
reserves were too near the front. The bulk of the army was massed on a
front of four miles; both flanks were covered by Cossacks.
The Kolotza entered the Moskva amid marshy ground; the right was
accordingly supported on a wood a mile and a half further south. In
front of this and on its left towards Gorki were various field works.
In front of Gorki was a parapet with redans, and on the knoll south of
Borodino a large earthwork, called by the French the “Great Redoubt.”
Semenovskoï had been destroyed, the houses being mere shell traps.
At its western end a parapet had been marked out, and to the south
three _flèches_ or redans. The Gorki work, the Great Redoubt and the
Semenovskoï redans were the only entrenchments at all complete, and
they were very hastily finished and of poor profile. Engineers and
sappers were few in the Russian army, and tools seem to have been
lacking.
The strength of the army gathered to defend this very mediocre position
cannot be exactly estimated. Russian figures vary, and none seem to be
accurate in details. Bogdanovich, for example, reckons 14,500 artillery
and sappers present, which, allowing for 1000 of the latter, gives an
average of 250 per battery--more than in June!
The only very certain fact about the Russian strength is that when the
army reached Gzhatsk it cannot have contained much over 100,000 men,
of whom 3000 were militia and 7000 Cossacks. Miloradovich’s 15,500 men
were drafted into the regiments, presumably with a view to bringing
them up as far as possible to equal strength. On the 4th the army was
joined by 7000 militia from Moscow under Count Markov, the vanguard of
the great national levy. The total may be fairly estimated at nearly
125,000 men. The militia were absolutely raw troops; some of them were
merely employed on police and fatigue duties. There were over 17,000
excellent regular cavalry, 7000 Cossacks, and 640 guns and howitzers,
admirably appointed and horsed.
Napoleon had left perhaps 700 men in Gzhatsk, and allowing 1000 men
for casualties at Gridnevo and Kolotskoï, and 2000 for stragglers or
men who failed to rejoin, he had still over 131,000 men on the 5th
of September, exclusive of the head-quarters guard, at least 3000
men, who must be counted as present no less than the Russian militia.
Between the 5th and 7th the army was reinforced by 4000 cavalry, giving
a total of 138,000 men available. There were about 32,000 cavalry,
but their superiority in numbers hardly compensated for the inferior
condition of the horses. The weight of metal thrown by the 584 guns
was slightly superior to that projected by the 640 opposing pieces;
and the former--with the exception of the regimental artillery--were
undoubtedly more efficiently served, but here also the horses were in
poor condition.
After the fight at Kolotskoï the French moved forward,--the main
column by the new road, Eugène to the left rear, Poniatowski by the
old road on the right--Konovnitzin and his troops retiring steadily
before them. The Russian army was not yet definitely ranged for battle,
the direction of Napoleon’s attack being still uncertain. Barclay,
with the 2nd, 4th and 6th Corps, was behind Borodino, Bagration about
Semenovskoï with an advanced guard, under his second in command Prince
Gorchakov, at Shevardino, where a redoubt had been thrown up and armed
with 12 heavy guns. Gorchakov’s force comprised the 27th Division,
Sievers’ cavalry corps, the 2nd Cuirassier Division, and a light
infantry regiment from the 2nd Corps. The 3rd and 5th Corps, with the
militia, were for the present held in reserve.
It was not until 3 p.m. that Konovnitzin retired from Kolotskoï, and
probably not before 5 that Murat attacked Gorchakov. The 3rd Chasseurs
were ejected from the hamlet of Doronimo by the 61st Regiment, which
marched at the head of Compans’ division; and the French infantry
attacked the redoubt. It was a hastily constructed work; but the 27th
Division fought with steady determination and contested its possession
fiercely, the cavalry co-operating by means of repeated charges, in
one of which the Russian Cuirassiers captured 5 guns. The position was
taken and retaken three times, and Bagration seems to have contemplated
holding it definitely, for at 8 he relieved Neverovski’s troops by
the division of Karl of Mecklenburg. But by this time Poniatowski was
well advanced along the old Moscow road on the left; and about 10 p.m.
Bagration, by Kutuzov’s orders, withdrew to the main position. The
losses on both sides had been considerable. Bagration, who had exposed
himself in his usual reckless fashion, was slightly wounded, as were
also Gorchakov and St. Priest.
The French army was not yet fully concentrated, and Napoleon occupied
the 6th in reconnoitring the Russian position and arranging his plan of
attack, while the troops already on the field rested. On the Russian
side the army was placed in position, and the day was for the most part
spent in religious exercises, culminating in the progress of the Virgin
of Smolensk, which had been rescued from the city, through the camps.
The Russian commanders realised that they ran the risk of being turned
by the old Moscow road. Tuchkov’s corps was therefore withdrawn from
the general reserve and posted at Utitza, with the Moscow militia
behind it in support, and 6 regiments of Cossacks under Karpov on its
left near Michino. On the plateau to the north of the new road were
the 2nd and 4th Corps, the 2nd on the right and the latter to the
left, near Gorki. Dokhturov, with a brigade of Voronzov’s Grenadiers
attached, stood between Gorki and the Great Redoubt. Raievski’s weak
corps occupied the space between Dokhturov and Semenovskoï and
garrisoned the Great Redoubt, while the 8th Corps (less Voronzov’s
detached brigade) and the 27th Division held Semenovskoï and the
redans. The wood between Borozdin’s left and Tuchkov was occupied by
4 regiments of light infantry. Every corps had its Chasseur regiments
thrown out in front. Borodino was garrisoned by the Chasseurs of the
Imperial Guard. Kutuzov and Bennigsen were stationed between Gorki and
Tzarévo, whence they could overlook nearly the entire field.
Behind the first line stood the cavalry, each reserve corps having
attached for the day a regiment of Corps-Hussars. Uvarov, having
also the Cossacks of the Guard, was with Baggohufwudt, Korff behind
Ostermann-Tolstoï, Kreutz (_vice_ Pahlen invalided) in rear of
Dokhturov, and Sievers behind Semenovskoï, with Duka’s Cuirassier
division. Platov had 5 Cossack regiments watching the right flank,
and 9 more in rear of the 2nd Corps. The 5th Corps, now under General
Lavrov, was at Tzarévo, with an artillery reserve of about 240 field
and horse guns.
These dispositions have not escaped criticism. Clausewitz considers
that there were too many troops on the right, and as they had
eventually for the most part to be brought over to the left he was
probably correct. Bennigsen says that he saw that the left would be
attacked in force, and that Bagration needed reinforcing. Both opinions
have rather the air of wisdom after the event, and the manoeuvre
proposed by Clausewitz of forming a huge reserve, allowing Napoleon to
drive back Bagration, and then attacking his advancing line in flank,
seems rather a hazardous one.
The Russian line comprised four sections. Miloradovich commanded the
2nd and 4th Corps and the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Corps; Dokhturov the 6th
Corps and the 3rd Cavalry Corps; Gorchakov the 7th and 8th Corps and
Sievers’ cavalry; and Tuchkov the 3rd Corps and the Moscow militia.
Finally, Barclay was in charge of the right half of the line, Bagration
of the left. This multiplicity of generals was a nuisance. Barclay and
Bagration sent orders direct to the divisional and brigade commanders.
The precise part which Kutuzov took in the battle is uncertain: the
general impression is that he left Barclay and Bagration to direct the
movements of the troops, except in a few instances.
It is a little doubtful if the Russian commanders intended nothing but
a mere obstinate defensive. As has been already mentioned, Borodino
was garrisoned and the bridge left intact; and from Barclay’s actions
and remarks, as recorded by Löwenstern, he seems to have contemplated
a counter-offensive on the right. The vigour of the French attack,
however, in any case rendered this idea, if entertained, fruitless.
As regards the French plans, there is little information to be gathered
from Napoleon’s orders, which merely provide in the simplest manner for
massing batteries and opening infantry attacks, after which directions
would be given according to circumstances. Poniatowski was to turn
the Russian left by the old Moscow road--a task for which he had not
enough troops. Probably, owing to the interposing woods, the Russian
force on the old road had not been estimated at its real strength.
Davout endeavoured to be allowed to make a strong flanking movement,
but Napoleon characterised it as too hazardous. Probably his real fear
was that the Russians would evacuate their position under its menace,
and so rob him of the battle which he anxiously desired. The battle
resolved itself into a general assault of the bulk of the French army
upon the Borodino-Utitza line, which, to withstand the attacks upon
it, was ultimately manned by the greater part of the Russian host. It
is certain that Davout was in a state of sullen rage at the rejection
of his advice, as well as at the fact that Morand and Gérard were
detached from the 1st Corps, and placed for the day under the orders of
Eugène.
Napoleon was certainly unwell. To say that he had a cold appears little
to those who do not reflect that a cold may be very troublesome.
Whatever the precise degree of Napoleon’s sickness there can be no
doubt as to his lack of activity, and for a circumstance so remarkable
there must have been strong reasons. It was no small cause that could
keep the great conqueror, during a battle upon which his fortunes
depended, lying listlessly on a rug behind his line.
During the 6th the French sappers raised three battery-emplacements in
front of the 1st, 3rd and 4th Corps, each for 24 guns; but they were
placed at too great a distance from the Russian line and played no part
in the battle.
The night of the 6th-7th was foggy. Early on the 7th, while the
troops were forming, the usual Imperial proclamation was read by the
Colonels. It was a brief and uninspiring document, which can hardly
have done much to raise the spirits of the men. De Chambray says that
it was coldly received. Kutuzov’s proclamation, which was read to the
Russian troops after the religious services on the 6th, was a much more
effective production.
The French army was disposed in the following order from right to left.
The 5th Corps was on the old Moscow road. Davout, with the divisions of
Friant, Compans and Desaix, stood opposite Borozdin’s position and the
wood to its south. Ney continued the line to the Kolotza with Ledru’s
and Razout’s divisions; the relics of Scheler’s Württemberg division,
now consolidated into only 3 battalions, were in reserve. North of the
Kolotza, communicating with the other troops by means of five trestle
bridges, was Eugène with the 4th Corps (less Pino’s division), Morand’s
and Gérard’s divisions, Grouchy’s cavalry corps and Preising’s Bavarian
horsemen.
In rear of Ney were the 8th Corps and Latour-Maubourg’s cavalry.
Nansouty’s cavalry corps supported Davout. The Imperial Guard, with
Montbrun’s cavalry corps, just rejoined by its light division, formed
the general reserve, its final position being about the Shevardino
redoubt captured on the 5th, near which Napoleon stationed himself.
About 6 a.m. the artillery of Davout’s corps, speedily supported by
that of Ney, began a furious cannonade of the Russian left centre. Very
soon afterwards Davout opened the infantry attack, sending forward
Compans’ division against the Semenovskoï redans, while Ney supported
by moving forward Ledru on Compans’ left. The Russian entrenchments
were so slight that there was little difficulty in entering, but to
hold them was a very different matter. Redan No. 2 was carried by the
24th Léger and the 57th of the line, but Voronzov, charging with his
six Grenadier battalions formed in square, supported by Neverovski and
some of Sievers’ dragoons, drove them out again, and the fight raged
fiercely about the almost useless earthworks, which were taken and
retaken as the generals on either side threw in reinforcements.
Bagration, seeing the heavy masses advancing against him, and fearing
that he would be overpowered, ordered Tuchkov to send Konovnitzin’s
division (now commanded by Tuchkov IV, Konovnitzin being on Kutuzov’s
staff) from Utitza. This reinforcement was necessary, for by 8 Voronzov
and Neverovski, no longer able to bear up against superior numbers,
were evicted from all three redans, Voronzov being wounded. Tuchkov
came up in time to rally the retreating battalions, and Bagration
promptly led forward a fresh counter-attack which was successful in
recovering the lost position, though Compans was now supported by
Desaix. Already the terrible “Battle of the Generals” was earning its
name. Compans was disabled first, then Desaix, while Rapp, sent by
Napoleon to succeed Compans, received four wounds in about an hour.
On the left Eugène had attacked Borodino with Delzons’ division of the
4th Corps. The attack was made under cover of the mist which still hung
over the field, and the village was carried with a rush. The Guard
Chasseurs lost 30 officers in a quarter of an hour, and were driven in
wild confusion to and across the Kolotza. The bridge was taken, and the
106th French Regiment poured across it in pursuit. The garrison would
have been destroyed but for the 1st Chasseurs, under Colonel Karpenko,
who hurried up to the rescue. Charged by them, and smitten by the fire
of Ostermann-Tolstoï’s guns from the farther bank, the 106th lost
heavily. General Plauzonne was killed as he endeavoured to rally it,
and its remains were driven back across the stream. Karpenko’s charge
was stopped by the 92nd Regiment, but he succeeded in destroying the
bridge. Eugène left Delzons to watch the Kolotza north of the village,
placed the Royal Guard in reserve, stationed the cavalry of the 4th
Corps and Preising’s division, now united under General Ornano, to
cover the left flank, and turned Morand’s, Gérard’s and Broussier’s
divisions, supported by Grouchy, against Dokhturov and Raievski.
On the right Poniatowski captured Utitza, held only by the outposts,
without difficulty; but on the knoll beyond Tuchkov had massed a
strong force of artillery, supported by Strogonov’s division, while
the Chasseurs in the wood to the north brought a flanking fire to bear
upon the Poles. Poniatowski ranged 40 guns in advance of the village,
but they failed to silence Tuchkov’s artillery, and for some hours the
action in this quarter was reduced to cannonading and skirmishing.
Kutuzov, seeing that nearly the whole French army was moving against
his centre and left, about 7.30 a.m. ordered Baggohufwudt to march the
bulk of his corps to the support of Bagration. But as the movement
would take some time, and Bagration appeared to need immediate
support, the Ismailovski and Lithuanian Guards, some Grenadiers, and
a brigade of Cuirassiers, were sent forward, much to the disgust of
Barclay, who held strong views about depleting reserves until the last
moment. He hurried to Kutuzov, and begged him not to use up the Guard
until things became critical, and Kutuzov assented. His action during
the greater part of the battle indeed seems to have been confined to
approving his lieutenants’ measures.
Davout and Ney, after being forced from the redans, reformed their
troops for another assault. Friant’s division was called up in support,
and Tharreau’s division of the 8th Corps sent forward by Napoleon
against the wood to the south, from which the Russian light infantry
were keeping up a heavy fire. When the Westphalians began to penetrate
the wood matters appeared critical for Bagration, exposed to attacks in
front and flank at the same time; but at 9 a.m. Baggohufwudt’s corps
arrived to his support. Eugen’s division was placed in reserve behind
Semenovskoï; two of Olsuviev’s regiments reinforced Tuchkov IV, while
the remaining four pushed into the wood and drove the Westphalians out
again.
The attack on the wood had, however, caused the cessation of the
flanking fire which had annoyed the Poles; and Poniatowski attacked
and carried the knoll behind Utitza. The success was but momentary.
Strogonov rallied his broken division; Tuchkov I himself led forward
the Pavlovsk Grenadier regiment; while Olsuviev broke out of the wood
with two regiments of Chasseurs. Attacked in front and flank, and
charged by Olsuviev in the rear, the Poles were unable to stand and
were thrust back to Utitza. The Russian success was achieved at the
cost of the life of Tuchkov, who was mortally wounded as he led on his
Grenadiers.
The arrival of Baggohufwudt enabled Bagration to steady his line
against the renewed advance of Davout and Ney. The struggle on the low
heights was indescribably close and desperate. Behind the furiously
fighting masses of infantry hovered the cavalry, charging again and
again as opportunities presented themselves. By 10 a.m. the French had
once more taken the redans; and the 15th Léger, of Friant’s division,
fought its way into the ruins of Semenovskoï. Borozdin, charging with
four regiments of Grenadiers, drove it out again past the redans,
but was then set upon by Nansouty’s cavalry and forced back; and the
struggle raged more furiously than ever as the French once more stormed
the redans, to be hurled out again by a counter-attack of Tuchkov IV’s
division, led by Konovnitzin. Already the losses had been fearful.
Romoeuf, Davout’s chief-of-staff, had fallen, and on the Russian side
General Tuchkov IV, the second of his family to die for Russia on the
field of Borodino.
Eugène, having crossed the Kolotza by the temporary bridges, placed
batteries in position to bombard the Great Redoubt, and formed Morand’s
division opposite that of Paskievich, which held the knoll. Broussier
moved forward in support on Morand’s left, while Gérard was still
crossing the stream. Paskievich’s troops outside the redoubt were so
shattered by the fire of the French batteries that they sought refuge
behind the shoulder of the knoll; and General Bonami, with the 30th
of the Line, saw his chance. As the regiment advanced up the knoll it
suffered fearfully in its close formation, but nevertheless pressed on
dauntlessly and stormed the work, after a furious struggle with the
Russian infantry and gunners, who proved, as Captain François says,
worthy antagonists.
This sudden piercing of the centre of the Russian line produced an
immediate counter-attack, while Morand’s other regiments appear to have
been too busy with Kolubakin’s division to support Bonami. A message
was hurriedly sent to Barclay; but without waiting for orders all the
officers on the spot immediately did the right thing. Yermólov, who
was at hand, picked up a battalion of the Ufa regiment (Likhachev’s
division) and was joined by Colonel Löwenstern, Barclay’s aide, with
one of the Regiment of Tomsk. Likhachev hurried up the 19th and 40th
Chasseurs. Vassilchikov promptly turned a battalion of Kolubakin’s
division against the lost redoubt, and Paskievich, rallying his broken
division, again pushed forward. The improvised attack was completely
successful. Unsupported, except by one battalion of the 13th Léger,
the gallant 30th was lost. The redoubt was recaptured and Bonami
desperately wounded and taken. As the remains of the regiment streamed
away down the knoll, Barclay came upon the scene, and let loose a
brigade of Kreutz’s Dragoons. The 30th was almost completely destroyed,
only 11 officers and 257 men being able to rally. The Russians had not
come off scatheless. Count Kutaïsov was killed as he led the charge
with Yermólov, and the latter was wounded. To cover the escape of the
remains of the 30th Eugène concentrated a tremendous artillery fire on
the redoubt, in which Barclay replaced Paskievich’s shaken division by
Likhachev’s.
The Great Redoubt was retaken at about 11 a.m., and at the same time
Ney, Davout and Murat made a last and determined assault on Bagration’s
position about Semenovskoï. The last reserves of the 1st and 3rd Corps
were thrown into the fight; Napoleon sent up the rest of the 8th Corps;
behind the infantry were ranged Nansouty’s and Latour-Maubourg’s corps
and the Corps Cavalry, and the attack was covered by the fire of over
250 guns.
This final assault was made by the French and Germans with magnificent
courage. Under the furious fire of the Russian artillery and musketry
the attacking columns pressed steadily on. The sight of their advance
roused Bagration to generous admiration. Believing that it could not
be stayed by artillery and infantry fire, he determined to make a
counter-attack, and sent forward every available battalion. Again the
opposing forces closed in deadly strife--Frenchmen, Russians and sturdy
Germans, Spaniards and Portuguese enlisted in a quarrel not their own,
fighting to the death around the blood-stained derelict redans. The
cavalry joined in the conflict, individual regiments and squadrons
striking in whenever an opportunity occurred. Bagration was desperately
wounded in the leg; and Löwenstern tells how he found him lying among
his staff behind the line, while Sir James Wylie, Alexander’s surgeon,
attended to his wound. He said to Löwenstern, “How goes it with
Barclay? Tell him that the safety of the army depends upon him. All
goes well here at present”--and then seeing that Löwenstern was himself
wounded, he kindly added: “Get yourself bandaged.” This touch helps
one to understand the personal admiration which Bagration undoubtedly
inspired in nearly everyone who came in contact with him; and it is
certain that his fall caused a serious slackening in the vigour of the
defence. Once more the stubborn Russians were driven from the redans
and past Semenovskoï; and this time they were not to regain their lost
positions.
After Bagration’s wound the temporary command devolved upon the brave
soldier Konovnitzin; but he was unable to check the retreat which
had now definitely set in. The whole of the defending force gave
back towards Tzarévo, and upon it Murat launched his great masses of
cavalry. Still there appear to have been no signs of demoralisation,
and little real disorder; and, though clearly worsted, the Russian
infantry maintained a desperate resistance. Behind Semenovskoï the
Ismailovski and Lithuanian Guards, which had not yet been seriously
engaged, were drawn up in squares; and, their heavy fire checked the
advance of the French cavalry. Murat brought up some batteries which
opened fire against them, while in the intervals of the cannonade
Latour-Maubourg’s corps charged their shattered battalions. The Guards
suffered fearfully, but closed their ranks and held firm, repelling
three charges of the Saxon Cuirassiers, who were almost annihilated.
The two regiments must, however, have been destroyed also but that
Borozdin II came to their rescue with a Cuirassier brigade, checking
the French horsemen by countercharges and enabling the Guards to follow
in the retreat, leaving their position outlined in squares of dead and
dying.
In the rear of Semenovskoï the ground was covered with struggling
hordes of infantry and cavalry. Out of the confusion at length emerged
some sort of order, the Russians taking up position along the Tzarévo
plateau, covered by the fire of batteries from the reserve, while
Davout and Ney reformed in front of Semenovskoï. Davout had been hit
four times, but declined to leave the field, though obliged to withdraw
for a short time, during which Ney and Murat exercised the command.
The King of Naples behaved with all his usual reckless bravery; and
Baron Lejeune speaks with admiration of the splendid figure presented
by Ney, as he stood directing the battle from the parapet of a redan.
And on the other side Barclay, now practically in sole command of the
Russian army, was setting an example no less heroic, apparently wishing
to meet his death on the field of Borodino. As the stress of battle
grew, the Russian generals for the most part concealed the insignia
which made them conspicuous; not so the slandered War-Minister, who
faced the storm wearing full-dress uniform and all his decorations. It
is impossible not to appreciate the heroic impulse that prompted him,
like Nelson and many another fiery spirit, to expose himself to death
decorated with the badges won on the field of honour. His staff were
almost all killed or wounded, and he had two horses shot under him,
but escaped with the slightest injury.
[Illustration:
MARSHAL NEY
Commander of the 3rd French Army Corps. The hero of the Retreat
After the picture by Langlois at Versailles]
As he saw Bagration’s line driven in, Kutuzov had ordered the 4th
Corps also to draw in to the centre. By noon the Russian position
was peculiar. Dokhturov on the right and Tuchkov on the left still
faced the French in nearly their old positions, while the rest of the
army stretched in a convex between them. To drive back Dokhturov and
Tuchkov was Napoleon’s next object, and he was about to order forward
part of his Guard when, apparently a little after noon, he received
intelligence that his left was being attacked.
Early in the day Platov, reconnoitring towards the right, had
ascertained that there were comparatively few French troops north of
the Kolotza, and had proposed to the commander-in-chief a cavalry
attack on their flank and rear. Kutuzov assented, and for the
purpose detailed Uvarov’s cavalry corps,[6] some 3500 sabres strong.
Clausewitz, who was then on Uvarov’s staff, criticises the movement
severely. Certainly 3500 regular, and 4000 irregular, horsemen could
not of themselves effect much; but it is a little difficult to concur
in his opinion that the detachment of Uvarov’s corps was a rash
weakening of the line. It is easier to agree with him when he says
that the movement was made too early in the day. Uvarov, however, was
very slow and did not cross the Kolotza until past eleven. About 11.30
he approached the Voïna (a little stream which enters the Kolotza
at Borodino), at Besubovo, about a mile and a half from the former
village. On the Russian side of the stream stood Guyon’s cavalry
brigade and a regiment of the Italian Guard, which withdrew over a mill
dam before the fire of Uvarov’s artillery to join the rest of the Guard
and Delzons’ division, which occupied Borodino. Platov now came up, and
his wild horsemen dashed through a ford and among the Italian infantry,
followed, without orders, by the Cossacks of the Guard, who lost
heavily in charging the squares. Uvarov, however, would not risk his
regulars, halted, sent for orders and finally withdrew. Clausewitz’s
comment is that he was not the man to lead such an attack. Löwenstern
fumes at his slowness and hesitation. More, undoubtedly, might have
been achieved with a bolder commander. Even so his feeble diversion
brought Eugène back across the Kolotza with Broussier’s division, and
delayed the advance against the Great Redoubt. He finally withdrew
about 3 p.m., but before this Eugène had returned across the Kolotza.
All this time a tremendous and unprecedented cannonade was being kept
up. Between Borodino and Utitza some 900 guns were in action. The Great
Redoubt was being furiously bombarded by Eugène’s artillery, while
Ney’s batteries brought a converging fire to bear upon it from the
southward. To storm it Eugène detailed Gérard’s division, hitherto but
lightly engaged, while Morand and Broussier supported; and Napoleon
ordered Montbrun, with his Cuirassier divisions, to charge the Russian
line on Gérard’s right. Montbrun was killed as he led forward his men,
and General Caulaincourt, brother of the Duke of Vicenza, came hastily
from the Emperor to take up the command. “Don’t stop to lament!” he
said to the dead general’s aides. “Follow and avenge him!” The mass of
mail-clad horsemen broke through the Russian line south of the redoubt,
wheeled to the left and came thundering upon its rear, just as Eugène’s
infantry reached it in front. For the four regiments of Likhachev’s
division which held it there was no escape--at least as regards the
major part. Some of them who were outside the work succeeded in saving
themselves; but those within were trapped and, after maintaining a
desperate resistance against the charges in front and rear, were almost
all cut to pieces. Likhachev, who was very ill, flung himself among
the assailants, and had almost found the death which he sought when
some French soldiers, attracted by his insignia, took him prisoner,
severely wounded. Caulaincourt was struck down as he led the triumphant
charge of his Cuirassiers--one more victim of the fatal “Battle of the
Generals.”
The capture of the redoubt opened a huge gap in the Russian line,
through which Eugène’s and Grouchy’s cavalry poured to complete the
victory. Against them Barclay hurled all the horsemen whom he had
under his hand--the 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Corps and the Cuirassiers
of the Guard--leading more than one charge in person, while
Ostermann-Tolstoï’s corps, supported by the yet unengaged portions
of the 5th Corps, was ordered to make a counter-attack towards
Semenovskoï. Ostermann-Tolstoï, as he had shown at Ostrovno, was not
the man for an emergency; Löwenstern says that he appeared to have
entirely lost his head. He moved forward so slowly that Ney, Davout
and Murat were able to make preparations to receive him. The French
infantry were almost fought out; the cavalry had literally “foamed
themselves away” in endeavouring to shatter the resistance of the
stubborn Russian infantry; the fire of the Russian artillery was
as steady and effective as ever. The Marshals sent again and again
for some part of the Guard to support their weary men, but Napoleon
refused to risk it. The Russian writers express astonishment at his
caution. All that he would do was to send forward the reserve of heavy
artillery, under Comte Sorbier. Sorbier swore at Lejeune, who brought
the order to advance. “I ought to have had it an hour ago!” was his
comment.
The Marshals had got together 80 guns wherewith to oppose the Russian
advance; and when Sorbier came up the 4th Corps was overwhelmed
with a crushing cannonade, against which it could not make way. Its
losses were terrible. General Bakhmetiev had his leg carried away;
Ostermann-Tolstoï himself and several of his staff were wounded. The
supporting cavalry charged with splendid audacity, and some of them
actually re-entered the Semenovskoï redans. All was in vain. Sorbier’s
battery had turned the scale against the Russians, and by about 4
o’clock they were in full retreat. The infantry and cavalry on both
sides were fairly fought out, and the struggle was maintained only
by the artillery, except on the extreme left of the Russian line,
where Tuchkov’s force, now commanded by Baggohufwudt, was practically
isolated. The Polish Corps, supported by the Westphalians on the left,
succeeded about 5 p.m. in carrying the Utitza knoll, and Baggohufwudt,
still barring the road, drew back into line with the centre and left.
There was a last flicker of hostility near Semenovskoï, where the
Finnish Guards repulsed an advance of some French battalions, and
then the battle died away in a dwindling cannonade, until a thick fog
shrouded in a merciful veil the awful scene of slaughter. The Russian
line, reformed by Barclay, stretched from beyond Gorki along the edge
of the Tzarévo plateau to the old Moscow road. Four Chasseur regiments,
under Colonel Potemkin, were on the right with Platov’s Cossacks. The
remains of Dokhturov’s corps, supported by Uvarov, held Gorki. Next
came Ostermann-Tolstoï’s corps; and thence Raievski and Borozdin, with
Prince Eugen’s and Shakovski’s (late Tuchkov IV’s) divisions, continued
the line to Baggohufwudt’s position. The cavalry was in rear, and
the 5th Corps in reserve behind the centre. The French lay opposite,
Delzons and Lecchi north of the Kolotza and, to the south of the river,
the 4th, 3rd, 1st, 8th and 5th Corps in succession from Borodino
through Semenovskoï to a point about 1200 yards east of Utitza.
The consensus of opinion of eyewitnesses on the Russian side is that
the spirit of the Russians was unbroken, and that there was little
confusion in the ranks. Löwenstern says that he offered to attack the
Great Redoubt at break of day, and that Barclay approved. Kutuzov,
however, when he learned the extent of the slaughter in his army,
decided to retreat. It is quite certain that he must have retired in a
day or two, since he had no reserves, while Napoleon had 11,000 fresh
troops (Laborde and Pino) approaching the field. Barclay, however, was
bitterly angry; and when he received the order to retreat broke into a
fierce invective against Bennigsen, to whose influence he attributed
Kutuzov’s resolution.
Under cover of darkness the Russian army quietly withdrew, and on
the 8th took up a position in front of Mozhaïsk. The retreat was
effectually covered by the Cossacks, who displayed great audacity, and
in the night of the 7th-8th repeatedly disturbed the French bivouacs.
The French cavalry, shattered and exhausted, could do little or
nothing, and the Russians remained all through the 8th at Mozhaïsk,
employing the time in reorganising, and in evacuating towards Moscow
as many as possible of their wounded. Nevertheless many were left to
inevitable death on the field, and thousands more abandoned at Mozhaïsk
to the mercy of the French, who, themselves in a sorely distressed
condition, simply cast them out to die of misery in the fields.
Regarding the major tactics of the battle of Borodino there is little
to say. Napoleon had deliberately chosen to make a frontal attack
upon the Russian army in place of turning it; and in the practical
absence of his personal supervision the battle almost fought itself.
The idea of taking advantage of the extension of the Russian right
by overwhelming the left was an excellent one. It was foiled by the
determination of Bagration’s resistance, which permitted Baggohufwudt’s
corps to be moved across to his support. On the part of the Russians
the occupation in force of the position north of the new road proved
a blunder, which the remarkable solidity of the Russian resistance
enabled the generals to repair in time.
As regards what is often considered Napoleon’s fatal error in not
throwing in the Guard it is very doubtful whether it was an error
at all. It must be remembered that Ney’s and Davout’s troops were
almost, if not quite, fought out, that the Russians were still solid
and undemoralised, and holding a position quite as strong as that from
which they had been evicted; and that Kutuzov still had some almost
untouched reserves. The Guard would have had no easy victory, and
Napoleon was probably right when he refused to expose it to severe and
perhaps fatal losses. He knew that the Russians were neither routed nor
in disorder; and if they stood to fight again nearer Moscow he might
yet have sore need of his Guard. He was 1200 miles from the frontier of
his dominions, and in case of disaster all must depend upon it.
Of the minor tactics little need be said. On both sides they were crude
and wasteful. There was a deficiency of infantry on the French side,
and the cavalry was freely employed to supplement it, with the result
that it was half destroyed. The infantry formations were dense and
clumsy, it was a case of heavy mass pushing against heavy mass, with
cavalry mingled in the melée, and all under the fire of a thousand
or more pieces of artillery. It is no wonder that the losses were
unprecedented on both sides.
Napoleon gave his loss at 10,000. French writers admit the suspicious
round number of 28,000--6547 killed and 21,453 wounded--but Martinien’s
lists show 49 generals and 1934 officers killed and wounded, and even
allowing for the fact that many of the effectives were now low, and
the proportion of officers to rank and file therefore higher than
usual, this can scarcely imply less than 43,000 casualties. Even the
troops which had never been sent forward had suffered somewhat from the
cannonade.
[Illustration: BATTLE OF BORODINO (September 7th, 1812)]
The losses of the First Russian Army from the 4th to the 7th of
September are stated by Bogdanovich at 9252 killed and 19,226 wounded.
Those of the Second Army may perhaps, since it contained only 54
battalions and 52 squadrons as against Barclay’s 122 battalions and 112
squadrons, be estimated at 12,000. Adding the losses of the militia,
a total is obtained of possibly 41,000 or 42,000. Sir Robert Wilson
estimates it at 1500 officers and 36,000 men. Buturlin gives 15,000
killed and 30,000 wounded.
Prisoners there were few--perhaps 1000 or 1200 French and 2000
Russians. The estimates of guns captured are somewhat vague. Kutuzov’s
official figure of French guns taken and carried off by the Russians is
8. There may, of course, have been others disabled. The Russians seem
to have lost about 18 in all.
On the field Borodino can scarcely be described as anything but a drawn
battle. Napoleon had gained a little ground, but the Russian army was
unbroken and apparently quite willing to renew the contest next day.
Strategically the French appeared to have obtained a slight success,
since they were able to continue their advance to Moscow. On the other
hand, the battle, which ruined the cavalry and seriously shattered the
infantry, brought ultimate ruin distinctly nearer. Perhaps its most
noteworthy result was the extent to which the morale of the Napoleonic
army was broken.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 5: This is not absolutely certain, but appears to be proved
by the statements of eyewitnesses of the campaign. De Fezensac, for
example, says that the 3rd Corps had not yet exhausted its supplies
when it entered Moscow.]
[Footnote 6: Uvarov had 32 squadrons in all.]